New Article – Guide to immigrating to the Cayman Islands for High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals

New Article – Guide to immigrating to the Cayman Islands for High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals 

In his new article, Chris Manderville, an Associate Attorney in our corporate and commercial teams, provides a guide to immigrating to the Cayman Islands for High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth individuals and their families.

Introduction

The Cayman Islands are an English-speaking British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea (approximately 366 km (227 mi) south of Cuba and 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Jamaica). The Cayman Islands offers a relaxed Caribbean lifestyle with a high-quality standard of living. The main island is Grand Cayman which features many luxury homes and apartments, world class dining options as well as other high-end infrastructure and amenities which are consistent of a highly developed country (e.g. healthcare, private schools, safety).

The Cayman Islands are primarily known as an offshore financial center due to it being a tax neutral jurisdiction. The Cayman Islands have no income tax, property tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, investment tax or corporate tax. This makes the Cayman Islands a highly sought after domicile for high net worth (“HNW”) and ultra-high net worth (“UHNW”) individuals and their families who are seeking to take advantage of the beneficial tax environment.

An increasingly large number of HNW and UHNW individuals and families are permanent residents of the Cayman Islands. Given the high standard of living and tax neutrality that the jurisdiction provides to its residents (not to mention the Caribbean environment), there’s little question as to why this is the case.

Residency Options

This guide focuses on the four (4) main residency options available to HNW and UHNW foreigners seeking to become permanent residents of the Cayman Islands. Generally, these options require direct investment in local real estate (Options 1 & 2) or investment in local business (Options 3 & 4).

It should be noted that individuals may also gain residency in the Cayman Islands by either obtaining employment from a licensed business in the Cayman Islands and being granted a work permit or operating a business through Cayman Enterprise City, the one and only special economic zone. While these are more common ways to obtain residency in the Cayman Islands, these options are not connected to the net worth of the individual and do not result in permanent residency. As such, discussions on those options are outside the scope of this guide.

Immigration to the Cayman Islands is primarily governed by the Immigration (Transition) Act (2022 Revision) and its regulations. The government department in charge of immigration is Workforce Opportunities & Residency Cayman (“WORC”).

Option 1 – Residency Certificate for Persons of Independent Means

An option that is made available to applicants based on an investment in local real estate and their foreign-sourced income.

The Certificate available under this option entitles the holder (and any qualifying dependents) to reside in the Cayman Islands for a period of 25 years and may be renewed thereafter. The holder of this certificate does not have a right to work in the Cayman Islands.

The financial thresholds to qualify for this option are as follows [1]:

A. The applicant must either:

i) demonstrate a continuous source of annual income of no less than CI$120,000 (US$146,341), without the need to engage in employment in the Cayman Islands; or

ii) open a bank account with a Cayman Islands Monetary Authority-regulated and locally licensed institution and maintain a minimum deposit in the account of at least CI$400,000 (US$487,804) in assets; and

B. Invest a minimum of CI$1,000,000 (US$1,219,510) in the Cayman, of which at least CI$500,000 (US$609,755) is invested in developed real estate in Grand Cayman.

Holders of this Certificate must be physically present in the Cayman Islands for a minimum of 30 days in the aggregate per calendar year to retain their Certificate.

The prescribed fees involved with applying for, and obtaining, the Certificate are as follows:

Option 2- Certificate of Permanent Residence for Persons of Independent Means

Effectively an upgraded version from Option 1, this is an option available to applicants based on a more substantial investment in local real estate.

The Certificate under this option entitles the holder (and any qualifying dependents) to reside in the Cayman Islands for their lifetime. The holder of this Certificate does not have the right to work; however, unlike with Option 1, the holder may apply to WORC for a variation of the holder’s Certificate to allow for the right to work.

The holder of this Certificate may (provided other conditions are met) become eligible for naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories Citizen (“BOTC”) after five years. The holder may further apply to become Caymanian after five years of being a BOTC.

The increased benefits afforded under this Certificate also come with higher financial thresholds. Specifically, an applicant will qualify under this option if they invest a minimum of CI$2,000,000 (US$2,439,020) in developed real estate in the Cayman Islands and they are able to demonstrate that their financial resources are sufficient to adequately maintain themselves and their dependents.

The prescribed fees involved with applying for, and obtaining, the Certificate are as follows:

Option 3 – Certificate of Direct Investment

An option available to applicants who are business investors and are seeking to make (or have already made) significant investments in local business(es).

This Certificate entitles the holder (and any qualifying dependents) to reside in the Cayman Islands for a period of 25 years and may be renewed thereafter.

In order to qualify under this option, an applicant must demonstrate following:

(1) the applicant has made (or proposes to make) an investment equal to or greater than CI$1,000,000 (US$1,219,510) in any licensed employment generating business or businesses in the Cayman Islands, whether already existing or a new venture, and in which the applicant does or will exercise substantial management control;

(2) the applicant has a substantial business track record or an entrepreneurial background, including specific professional, technical and other knowledge relevant and necessary to carry on the pertinent business or businesses; and

(3) the applicant is able to prove that the applicant has available to them under the applicant’s personal control funds to the value of the proposed investment amount or that the applicant has already invested the minimum of CI$1,000,000 (US$1,219,510) in a licensed employment generating business in the Cayman Islands.

The Certificate available under this option entitles the holder to work in the business or businesses in which the holder has invested in (and for which the Certificate was granted) in an occupation or occupations as may be approved by WORC.

This option requires that the applicant/holder provide additional disclosures to WORC during the application process as well as ongoing disclosure which substantiate the holder’s ongoing investment at prescribed levels. Specifically, the holder will need to submit audited financial statements and details of employment generated by the business(es) to WORC at the end of the second and fifth year of the holder’s investment and at any time thereafter upon request by WORC.

This option also carries with it some associated business risk. The Certificate may be revoked in circumstances such as where business licences to the business(es) to which the Certificate relates have been revoked or where the business(es) cease to be employment generating.

Related to the above, the granting of a Certificate under this option does not confer the business(es) any right to a licence under the Local Companies (Control) Act (2025 Revision) or the Trade and Business Licensing Act (2021 Revision). Business licensing must be obtained separately from appropriate governmental authorities.

Holders of this Certificate must be physically present in the Cayman Islands for a minimum of 90 days in the aggregate per calendar year to retain their Certificate.

The prescribed fees involved with applying for, and obtaining, the Certificate are as follows:

Option 4 – Residency Certificate (Substantial Business Presence)

An option available to business investors or individuals who are (or will be) employed in a senior management capacity in approved categories of business.

This Certificate entitles the holder (and any qualifying dependents) to reside in the Cayman Islands for a period of 25 years and may be renewed thereafter. Unlike the above noted options 1 through 3, there are no prescribed minimum investment thresholds under this option. Rather, the main hurdle is being sufficiently involved in a limited list of approved categories of business.

In order to qualify under this option, an applicant must demonstrate the following:

A. The applicant owns, or proposes to own, either directly or indirectly, at least 10% of the shares in an approved category of business [2] in the Cayman Islands through which the applicant has established, or will establish, a substantial business presence in the Cayman Islands [3]; or

B. the applicant will be employed in a senior management capacity [4] of an approved category of business in the Cayman Islands.

A Certificate under this option entitles the holder to work in the business in which the holder is an owner or is employed in a senior management capacity.

As with Option 3, there are some inherent business risks associated with this Certificate. The Certificate may be revoked in circumstances such as where business licences to the business to which the Certificate relates have been revoked or where the holder ceases to comply with the initial requirements for which the Certificate was issued (i.e. no longer at least a 10% owner, loss of substantial business presence or no longer employed in a senior management capacity).

Also as with Option 3, the granting of a Certificate under this option does not confer the business any right to a licence under the Local Companies (Control) Act (2025 Revision) or the Trade and Business Licensing Act (2021 Revision). Business licensing must be obtained separately from appropriate governmental authorities.

Holders of this Certificate must be physically present in the Cayman Islands for a minimum of 90 days in the aggregate per calendar year to retain their Certificate.

The prescribed fees involved with applying for, and obtaining, the Certificate are as follows:

Other Considerations

While the investment criteria in local real estate and/or business are generally the primary barriers to be considered for residency, it bears noting that additional prerequisites exist. Specifically, an applicant and their dependents must: (i) not have any serious criminal convictions, (ii) be in good health, and (iii) have purchased sufficient locally compliant health insurance.

Further Information

For further information or professional advice please contact the team at Priestleys at chris.manderville@priestleys.ky or daniel.priestley@priestleys.ky and we will be happy to assist you.

This article has been produced for general information purposes and further advice should be sought from a professional advisor.

The article can be downloaded below:

https://priestleys.ky/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Guide-to-Immigrating-to-the-Cayman-Islands-for-HWN-UHNW-Individuals.pdf

References:

[1] This guide assumes applicants will be residing in Grand Cayman. The islands of Cayman Brac or Little Cayman (together known as the Sister Islands) have different (lower) financial prerequisites but are uncommon options pursued by applicants. We can provide advice in connection with residing in the Sister Islands.

[2] The specific categories of business are prescribed in the Immigration Regulations (2025 Revision).

[3] A substantial business presence requires that a business have a physical presence in the Cayman Islands through the lease or purchase of commercial real estate and that the business employs at least four full-time employees who are legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands for a minimum of nine months in any calendar year.

[4] Defined as being in an occupation which attracts an annual work permit fee of CI$20,925 (US$25,518) or more.

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