Working in Cayman

The Cayman Islands is the sixth largest financial centre in the world and probably the world’s most well known offshore jurisdiction. Alongside offshore banks, hedge and trust funds and the various accounting and attorney office that support this infrastructure comes the plethora of smaller businesses and service companies required to facilitate the millions of dollars that are transacted here on a daily basis.

It must be everyone’s dream to not only have a rewarding direct tax free employment but also to live in a year round tropical climate, amongst some of the best beaches in the world with a pace of life driven only by yourself.

With no direct taxation, the government raises it’s income through duties and fees on imported goods and on businesses. Therefore the cost of living is higher than in most countries however at least you do have a choice as to how much you consume and therefore spend.

If you are an expatriate you will require a work permit, to be applied for and paid for by your prospective employer. There are several different lengths of permits depending upon which business sector – such as tourism which is seasonal here – you are interested in joining. You should note that there are reserved occupations for Caymanians and part of the process of the work permit application requires your prospective employer to advertise your position. Should a suitably qualified Caymanian apply for this position then the employer is bound to give that position to the Caymanian applicant unless they can show particular reasons why that would be detrimental to his business.

The opportunity to save money and invest is made easier by the number of financial institutions – banks etc.- that have set up here in recent years – don’t forget your savings and investments will grow tax free too!

There will always be employment opportunities here on Cayman as recently introduced immigration laws now only allow expatriate workers to remain on the Island for seven years.