The Cayman Islands’ Government has confirmed it is considering implementing a number of immigration incentives to avoid an exodus of foreign investment professionals based on the island.
The British overseas territory is legal home to most of the world’s hedge funds but has recently witnessed a drop in the number of companies located there.
This has in part been blamed on the global recession although some Cayman-domiciled businesses claim inflexible immigration rules are also hindering them.
Cayman premier McKeeva Bush, who recently visited the US, Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore in a bid to lure investors to the island, said he is keen to create the most attractive environment possible to encourage financial services firms to locate there.
“Just as we built our reputation in our current lines of business such as funds, insurance and banking, we know we need to do the same – even more so – to extend our leadership position in other areas of international financial services,” said Bush.
“Our overall message is not just that we are open for business – this is nothing new – but we are committing time and resources to attract a greater share of the global financial services market to locate in the Cayman Islands, along with their families.”
Measures being considered include expediting work permit applications, issuing three- to five-year work permits for accredited investors in the financial services industries, offering exemptions from standard term limits for the work permits of senior employees and offering a guarantee to not increase work permit fees for a period of four years.
