Residency Certificate (Substantial Business Presence)

1. Residence permit300 months
2. Renewrenewable

• Permanent residency
• Citizenship
• Dual citizenship allowed

Country

Cayman Islands

Program

Residency Certificate (Substantial Business Presence)

Local name

Residency Certificate (Substantial Business Presence)

Type

Entrepreneur

Status

Active

Initial duration

300 months

Renewable

Yes

Min stay

90 days per 12 months

Twenty-five-year residence for a person who will be in the Cayman Islands at least 90 days a year and who either owns at least 10 percent of an approved business with a real local presence, or works in senior management of such a business. The business must have commercial premises and at least four full-time staff who are legally and ordinarily resident for nine months of the year. The holder may work in that business in an occupation WORC approves.

Tax regime

Exempt

Tax rate

0.0%

Regime name

No direct taxes

Foreign income taxed

No

Capital gains taxed

No

Method

mail

Apply from abroad

Yes

There is no statutory dollar minimum, so no investment amount is listed. Substantial business presence means the business has bought or leased commercial real estate and employs at least four full-time employees who are legally and ordinarily resident for a minimum of nine months in any calendar year. Approved categories in regulation 14C include fund administration, brokerage, investment and fund management, investment banking, financial trading, captive insurance or reinsurance management, reinsurance underwriting, actuarial services, insurance claims management, family office, hedge-fund incubation, exempted companies, and, in Cayman Brac, back-office support. Senior management means an occupation whose annual work-permit fee is at least CI$20,925, or at least CI$5,000 if the business is the Cayman Brac back-office category. Those figures define the occupation. They are not an income test for this certificate. A shareholder who does not yet meet the ownership or presence test can receive a six-month approval-in-principle. The Director considers the views of the Department of Commerce and Investment. The certificate lasts 25 years and is renewable at the Director's discretion. The holder must be physically present for at least 90 days in aggregate in each calendar year and pays an annual fee equal to the work-permit fee for the approved occupation. The application fee is CI$1,000 and the issue fee is CI$12,500. Each dependant costs CI$3,000 on issue and CI$3,000 a year. The annual declaration costs CI$500. Conversions use CI$1 = US$1.20. A current WORC checklist prints the CI$12,500 issue fee and the CI$3,000 dependant fee. An older checklist still prints CI$5,000 and CI$1,000. A spouse or civil partner may be included. A dependant child's right ends at the end of full-time tertiary education or at 24, whichever is earlier, unless disability makes the child still dependent. The certificate does not by itself lead to permanent residence or naturalisation, and it does not itself grant a trade and business licence. There is no income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax. Health insurance is required. No minimum age or medical-examination form was found on the checklist that was read.

1. Oct 10, 2026

   Added

   created. Twenty-five-year certificate, 10 percent or senior management, four resident employees, 90 days a year, issue fee CI$12,500 from 1 May 2026 (legislation.gov.ky).