Visa applications and moving to the Cayman Islands

I've lived over in the Cayman Islands twice on a working visa now, so I feel I can offer some advice if you're planning on applying for a visa to work and live in the Caribbean and make some money tax-free.

This is the first instalment.

Applying for a working visa to Grand Cayman is a long, step-by-step process. It begins from the moment you get the go-ahead from an employer to the point it’s sent off to the Cayman Islands visa board for approval.

I can only offer my advice from my experience with the visa application I made to work in the hospitality industry in the Cayman Islands.

It's a standardised process to apply for and complete a visa to work in Grand Cayman though, so if you’re looking at senior roles you should note the visa process is likely to be similar. The only real difference between a service and more senior managerial or financial roles will be the employer's application fees, which increase as employee salary increases.

I first moved over in 2007, and it was easily the most incredible experience of my life so far. The island has a great mix of nationalities, with expatriates from Britain, Canada, America and Australia joining Caymanians, Hondurans, Phillipinos, Cubans and Jamaicans.

Although the Cayman Islands are a British dependent territory, its proximity to Miami and the tourists who visit means it has adopted more of the American lifestyle.

Tourists visit by plane and by cruise ship for its seven mile beach, its flora and fauna and its tax-free status. Designer jewellery and watches sell from the capital George Town at a discount rate.

Scuba diving is another popular attraction. I took my Open Water qualification here, training in the tranquil, clear waters. I’ll go into more detail in a future blog post, because diving the coral, the Cayman Trench and the underwater cliff faces are exhilarating experiences in themselves and worthy of the trip alone.

So first things first: Why work in Cayman?

The Cayman Islands are a group of three small islands situated between Cuba and Jamaica. Being in the Caribbean they enjoy year-round good weather.

The currency is the CI Dollar, which is fixed against the US dollar at $1.00CI = $1.20 US.

The cost of living is high as everything is imported from abroad - usually America, but there are also Canadian and Jamaican supermarkets. Everything that is imported is subject to a 20 per cent duty. Other than the import duty the islands are completely tax-free.Most people shop for big ticket items like furniture in Miami, and many rental homes will come fully furnished.

Just to get it out of the way quickly, the island is a developed nation in every single way. Good roads, a busy airport, electricity, fast internet connection, golf courses, cinemas, food from around the world, beer, air conditioning and every thing else you could ever desire are here and have been for years.

People sometimes complain of island fever, because it is relatively small. A population of 60,000 fit on Grand Cayman island, the biggest of the three. It’s shaped like a disjointed horse shoe, with marshland and a bay in the centre. A shallow stretch of water reaches from the northern tip of the West bay area of the island across the bay to the North Side. This shallow water houses Stringray City, a really popular attraction for tourists.

Cuba is a 50 minute flight away, and costs about $350 US round trip with Cayman Air. Havana is a great place to visit for a few days, and definitely worth a visit whilst you live on the island. Cayman Air also flies over to Jamaica, Miami, New York and Honduras. A cool little plane with the old-style propellers also hops over to Cayman Brac. The Brac has a population of a few hundred people last time I checked. It’s a good spot for chilled out scuba diving.

The airport isn’t huge. The biggest plane is the non-stop flight from London with BA, which has to slam on the brakes when it hits the runway. Its services Canada, the US and the UK, as well as destinations around the Caribbean.

The most significant reason for moving to Grand Cayman is undoubtedly the money, and its tax-free status. I'll go into greater depth in the next blog on this.

Next instalment: On to the money.