Cayman’s permanent residency issues carried over into 2017 causing unrest amongst those whose lives hung in the balance, many of whom called for action prompting pleas for patience.
“This is a vexing issue, not just for those impacted but for me and government, the matter is complex and we are working to address it,” said Premier Alden McLaughlin.
At the root of the PR issue the point system introduced by the Progressives-led administration in 2013. It was found to be ineffective in determining who should be granted PR and with no applications being approved since its implementation the backlog grew to an estimated 1000 applications awaiting review. It triggered legal action by some applicants who had been waiting for over 10 years but a change would finally come.
By June government announced that the board would get the gears turning once more for Caymanian status and permanent residency applications.
The first PR application was approved, two withdrawn by applicants, five denied and two deferred during this time.
By September 419 applications were reviewed with 158 successful, 116 refused, and 81 deferred, 15 applications were withdrawn and 9 could not be dealt with leaving the backlog at 802.
The backlog climbed back up to 876 by the time October rolled around despite the board going through 503 applications by this time 243 permanent residency applications were approved and an unspecified number of applicants had their naturalization requirements waived.
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