s.22Acquisition of the right to be Caymanian by grant of the Board
22
Section 22Part 3 — Provisions Relating to Caymanians

Acquisition of the right to be Caymanian by grant of the Board

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22. (1) The Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board may, subject to section 24, grant the right to be Caymanian to any of the persons referred to in this section.
Any person who —
has attained the age of eighteen years;
satisfies the Board that he is the child or grandchild of a Caymanian born in the Islands; and
repealed by section 5 of [Law 2 of 2012]
is not otherwise entitled to the right to be Caymanian, may apply to the Board for the grant of the right to be Caymanian.
Any person who is a British Overseas Territories Citizen by reason of a certificate of naturalisation or registration issued under the British Nationality Act, 1981 [UK Act] by virtue of his connection with the Islands, or any Act preceding, amending or replacing that Act, may, if he has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for at least fifteen years or at least five years after the receipt of that grant, apply for the grant of the right to be Caymanian.
Any person —
who has been married to a Caymanian —
for at least five years immediately preceding the application, where the marriage took place prior to the 1st January, 2004; or where the marriage took place on or after the 1st January, 2004;
for at least seven years immediately preceding the application,
whose marriage is not a marriage of convenience;
who is not living apart from his spouse under a decree of a competent court or under a deed of separation;
who has not lived apart from his spouse for an aggregate period of three months —
out of the five years immediately preceding the application where the marriage took place prior to the 1st January, 2004; or the marriage took place on or after the 1st January, 2004;
out of the seven years immediately preceding the application where
who is legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands immediately preceding his application; and
who has not in any country been convicted of an offence for which a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding twelve months has been passed other than for non-payment of a fine unless — Section 22 Immigration Law Page 30 Revised as at 2nd day of July, 2015 c
the conviction has been quashed on appeal or has been the subject of a free pardon; offence if done or omitted in the Islands in similar circumstances; or directs to be ignored for the purposes of this section, may apply to the Board for the grant of the right to be Caymanian.
the act or omission giving rise to such conviction would not be an
the conviction is one which, in the interest of justice, the Board
The Board, in calculating under subsection (4) the period of time that the applicant and his spouse have spent apart, shall not, where the absences are occasioned by one or other of the spouses having been away from the Islands, take into account those occasions when such absences were temporary for medical, educational, business or similar reasons.
The surviving spouse of a Caymanian who —
was married to the deceased for at least seven years;
immediately before the death of the deceased was not living apart from the deceased —
under the decree of a competent court; had irretrievably broken down;
under a deed of separation; or
in circumstances where, in the opinion of the Board, the marriage
has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands immediately preceding the death of the deceased; and
either has not in any country been convicted of an offence or has in any country been convicted of an offence for which a sentence of imprisonment, not exceeding twelve months, has been imposed other than for non-payment of a fine unless —
such conviction has been quashed on appeal or has been the subject of a free pardon; offence if done or omitted in the Islands in similar circumstances; or directs to be ignored for the purposes of this section, may apply to the Board for the grant of the right to be Caymanian.
the act or omission giving rise to such conviction would not be an
the conviction is one which, in the interests of justice, the Board
Where the marriage referred to in subsection (6)(a) has not subsisted for a period of seven years or the grant of the right to be Caymanian has been refused by the Board, the surviving spouse may apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for the right to permanently reside in the Islands and the Chief Immigration Officer shall take into account — Immigration Law (2015 Revision) Section 22 c Revised as at 2nd day of July, 2015 Page 31
the length of the marriage; subsisting as evidenced by a decree of a competent court, a deed of separation or what appears to be the breakdown of the marriage;
whether there are any children of the marriage;
whether immediately prior to the death the marriage was no longer
the applicant’s ability to support himself and any dependants; and
the applicant’s health and character.
Where, under subsection (7), permanent residence is granted, the Chief Immigration Officer shall issue to the successful applicant a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate, which Certificate shall entitle the holder —
to accept employment from any employer of his choice; and
to have reside with him within the Islands such of his dependants as were listed in his application and were approved by the Chief Immigration Officer, but the Certificate shall restrict him to working within the particular occupation specified by the Chief Immigration Officer; and such certificate may be varied by the Chief Immigration Officer.
A person who —
has attained the age of seventeen years;
has Caymanian status which —
will expire when he attains the age of eighteen years; or
has expired upon his having attained the age of eighteen years; and
has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for at least five out of the seven years immediately preceding the date of the application, may apply to the Board prior to reaching the age of twenty-four for the grant of the right to be Caymanian, and such application shall be granted unless the Board has compelling reasons for refusing it, and such grant shall take effect when he attains the age of eighteen years or, where he is already eighteen years, from the date of the grant.
In relation to the qualification for legal and ordinary residence referred to in this Part —
where any question arises as to whether an applicant was or was not, during any material period, legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands, such question shall be decided by the Board;
where an applicant has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands and has been absent from the Islands for any period for the purpose of his education, health or business, the Board may count such period of absence as a period of legal and ordinary residence in the Islands if the Section 23 Immigration Law Page 32 Revised as at 2nd day of July, 2015 c Board is satisfied that, but for such period of absence, the applicant would have in fact continued to be legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands; and
nothing in this subsection shall have effect so as to preclude any applicant from appealing to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal, under section 15, on the grounds that the Board came to a wrong decision on the question of whether during any material period he was or was not legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands.
The Board, in its discretion, may require or allow any applicant to attend before it or any committee of the Board in support of his application, but subject as aforesaid no applicant shall be entitled to appear before the Board.
Subject to this Part, where a person is the grantee of the right to be Caymanian or of Caymanian status under this or any earlier law, no person shall be entitled to apply for the right to be Caymanian by virtue only of that grant save for those persons acquiring such right by entitlement.
An applicant who is aggrieved by the refusal of the Board to grant him the right to be Caymanian may, subject to section 15, appeal to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal against such refusal.

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