STIFFER PENALTIES ENACTED UNDER VISITOR’S WORK VISA(VWV)

New regulations have gone into effect as the Cayman Islands Government moves to streamline the Visitor’s Work Visa (VWV) process.

The changes to the law passed in February this year officially took effect this past Saturday, October 1st.  According to a CIG press release, the new policy measures are intended to strengthen national resilience in response to evolving operational demands, and form part of the Government’s strategy to modernise outdated administrative fees and enforcement penalties.

The three specific areas affected under the VWV system are: overstaying, people trafficking, and registration of births.

New penalties for overstaying now range from KYD500 to KYD5,000. Transporting passengers or crew without valid entry documents or attempting to present false documents now has new administrative fines of KYD5,000 per passenger/crew member, which may be imposed on masters or captains of vessels.

New penalties have also been introduced on reporting requirements for non-Caymanian children born in the Islands. Parents of those children now risk fines between KYD300 and KYD10,000 for failing to report the birth to Customs and Border Control(CBC) within three months of a child in that category.

Hon. Minister for District Administration and Home Affairs Nickolas DaCosta stated, “These measures strike a balance between welcoming legitimate visitors and workers while ensuring that the costs of administering border management services are fairly shared and Cayman’s borders remain secure.”

Mr DaCosta also said: “The policy updates were not designed to restrict opportunity, but rather to protect the sustainability, fairness, and credibility of the border control systems that underpin our economic prosperity, social cohesion, and national security.”

According to the CIG press release, updates under the Customs and Border Control (Visas, Entry and Landing) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, provide clarification to the Visitor’s Work Visa (VWV) process. It explains that the change removes the word “renewed”, confirming that the Director of CBC may grant or extend a VWV in accordance with existing policy and discretion, but not renew a VWV.