Cayman Islands Permanent Residence Points: The Complete Guide to All 9 Factors (2026)

Permanent residence in the Cayman Islands is awarded on points. After eight years of legal and ordinary residence (section 37(1) of the Immigration (Transition) Act (2022 Revision)), a non-Caymanian may apply, and the application is scored against Schedule 2 of the Immigration Regulations (2025 Revision) across nine factors. The pass mark is 110 points. The Gazette's own score tabulation reports a maximum of 215. Reaching 110 makes an application eligible for consideration; the grant itself remains a decision on the whole application, including character, health insurance and the ability to maintain oneself and any dependants.

This guide walks through each of the nine factors with the Schedule 2 wording it is read from, the page of the Gazette it appears on, and the practical consequence for someone planning an application several years out. Every figure below is a display value copied from the Gazette PDF (pages 100 to 109, revised as at 31 December 2024) and reconciled against the calculator's rubric file, which carries the same citations. The PR points calculator applies all of it to a real profile; this page explains where the numbers come from.

The nine factors at a glance

Factor	What it scores	Maximum points	Schedule 2 page
1	Occupation (current occupation 15, priority occupation 15)	30	p. 100
2	Education, training and experience	25	pp. 100 to 102
3	Local investments	30	pp. 102 to 104
4	Financial stability (savings 15, income 15)	30	pp. 104 to 105
5	Community involvement	20	pp. 105 to 106
6	History and Culture test	20	p. 106
7	Close Caymanian connections	100	pp. 106 to 107
8	Demographic and cultural diversity (nationality)	10	p. 108
9	Age distribution	10	p. 108

The per-factor maxima add to 275, yet the score tabulation on page 109 gives 215 as the maximum possible. The Gazette is internally inconsistent on this point. Two values are dormant (see below): the 15-point priority-occupation bonus and the Cuban-national tiers in Factor 7, which take that factor's live maximum from 100 to 40. Removing both leaves 200, so the Schedule's own 215 is not explained by its text. The threshold is not ambiguous: 110 points, Schedule 2 score tabulation item (ii).

Schedule 2 also carries a general rule that matters for arithmetic: where a factor produces whole and partial points, both are carried forward into the total (rule 3, p. 100). Half points from the History and Culture test and the pro-rated experience table in Factor 2 are therefore real points, not rounding noise.

Factor 1: occupation (maximum 30)

Fifteen points are awarded for the applicant's current occupation, provided the applicant is employed when the application is submitted. Explanation 3 adds a sharper edge: where the applicant is unemployed at the time the application is being decided, no points are awarded under this category. An applicant who loses a job between filing and decision loses these 15 points.

The second 15 points are for a "priority occupation". Schedule 2 rule 1 gives Cabinet a discretion to publish a list of priority occupations, and rule 2 requires the Board or the Director of WORC to take such a list into account where one is published. A 2015 court decision held that the bonus could not be applied without a published list, and no list has been published since; lawyers quoted by the Cayman Compass in March 2025 described the bonus as unavailable for that reason. The calculator treats the priority bonus as inactive. For planning purposes, Factor 1 is a flat 15 for anyone in work.

Factor 2: education, training and experience (maximum 25)

Factor 2 has two halves. Experience carries up to 10 points; education carries up to 15.

Experience (maximum 10)

The rule is non-linear. No points are awarded for fewer than two years in the occupation field (Explanation 1). Two points are awarded for the first two years worked after that minimum is reached (Explanation 2), then one point for each further full year up to a maximum of ten years (Explanation 3). Part years are pro-rated using a table in the Schedule: one month is worth 0.08 of a point, six months 0.50, eleven months 0.91 (Explanation 4). The field must be the applicant's current occupation field; a career change resets the count.

Education (maximum 15)

Points are awarded under one of two tracks, never both (Explanation 5), and only for qualifications related to the applicant's occupation or vocation.

• Professional occupations: postgraduate degree or professional qualification 15; bachelor's degree 12; associate's degree 8; high-school diploma or equivalent 5; none 0.
• Skilled and unskilled occupations: postgraduate degree 15; local licence from the relevant regulatory body 15; bachelor's degree 12; vocational certificate of more than one year of study 10; associate's degree 8; vocational certificate of less than one year 7; high-school diploma or equivalent 5; none 0.

The local-licence line is often overlooked. A tradesperson holding a licence from a Cayman regulatory body scores the same 15 as a postgraduate degree under the second track.

Factor 3: local investments (maximum 30)

Factor 3 rewards investment in property in the Islands or in a locally licensed company, measured relative to the applicant's means rather than in absolute dollars. The formula on page 103 is:

Total investment divided by 40% of total income for the last five years, multiplied by 30.

Three notes bound the formula. Total investment of less than CI$50,000 scores zero, but once the investment exceeds CI$50,000 the full value counts, including the first CI$50,000. Maximum points are awarded automatically where total investment exceeds CI$500,000. Income means either 90% of documented income for the last twelve months multiplied by five, or 100% of documented income for the last five years, and includes salary, commission, gratuities and investment income to the extent it can be proven.

What counts as investment is defined closely. For property, it is the purchase price plus stamp duty plus residential mortgage less liabilities on the property, or the total payments actually made (deposit, equity injected from non-borrowed funds, interest, principal and stamp duty), whichever is higher. Market value of stocks or bonds in a locally licensed solvent company counts, as does investment in a privately owned licensed business and personal funds spent improving gifted property with proof of source. Purchase agreements are expressly not accepted as evidence of investment. Where a property is owned jointly with a spouse or civil partner, the full investment and the combined income are used; where it is owned with anyone else, only the applicant's percentage counts.

The property closing-costs calculator and the stamp duty calculator on this site give the stamp-duty figure that forms part of the Factor 3 numerator.

Factor 4: financial stability (maximum 30)

Some secondary sources give Factor 4 a maximum of 15. The Gazette gives 30, made of two separately scored halves.

Savings (maximum 15)

The applicant's total cash and deposits held locally, counted up to a cap of CI$50,000, as a percentage of aggregate salary or income for the last twelve months: 5.0% and greater scores 15; 4.0% to 4.99% scores 12; 3.0% to 3.99% scores 9; 2.0% to 2.99% scores 6; 1.0% to 1.99% scores 3; less than 1.0% scores 0. Written evidence of savings at local financial institutions is required for the year preceding the application (Explanation 5). No credit is given for pension contributions (Explanation 6).

Income (maximum 15)

Gross annual income from employment, including basic salary, bonus, commission and allowances where documented (Explanation 7), is banded: CI$150,000 or more scores 15; 130,000 to 149,999 scores 14; 110,000 to 129,999 scores 13; 90,000 to 109,999 scores 12; 70,000 to 89,999 scores 11; 60,000 to 69,999 scores 9; 50,000 to 59,999 scores 7; 40,000 to 49,999 scores 5; 30,000 to 39,999 scores 3; 15,000 to 29,999 scores 1; under 15,000 scores 0.

Before the band is read, deductions are made for dependent children (Explanations 2 and 3): CI$15,000 per year for each accompanying non-Caymanian child of compulsory school age, CI$2,500 for each such child who is not accompanying, and CI$12,000 for each non-Caymanian dependent child under compulsory school age. A spouse's or civil partner's income is added only where there is at least one dependent child (Explanation 4). A household with two school-age children therefore reads the band CI$30,000 below gross salary.

Factor 5: community involvement (maximum 20)

Factor 5 is the factor that makes multi-year planning worthwhile, because it is earned per year inside an eight-year window rather than at a single point in time. Two rates apply:

• Category I, 2 points per year for each year with at least 35 hours of service, up to eight years: (a) training and mentoring Caymanians outside normal work hours or employer-sponsored activities; (b) personal sponsorship of a Caymanian's tertiary training of at least CI$3,500 per year; (c) actively assisting in the rehabilitation and mentoring of offenders.
• Category II, 1.5 points per year for each year with at least 35 hours of service, up to eight years: (a) a youth programme; (b) training and mentoring Caymanians within work-related or employer-sponsored activities; (c) a sports programme; (d) an arts programme; (e) a local service club; (f) a local church programme; (g) personal donations to community-minded activities of at least CI$2,000 per year; (h) volunteering for non-profit, charitable or voluntary organisations.

The cap is 20 points across all activities and all years. A year that passes without a qualifying activity is a year of Factor 5 points that cannot be earned later, which is the arithmetic behind the calculator's annual-cap tracker. Explanation 3 governs evidence: letters are accepted only from the head of the organisation or an executive member of its board, and from the Caymanian beneficiary in mentoring cases, and must state the activities and the time involved. Two spokes cover this factor in depth: charitable donations that count and community service categories, hours and documentation.

Factor 6: History and Culture test (maximum 20)

Factor 6 is the only factor scored in an exam room. One half-point is awarded for each question answered correctly; with a maximum of 20 points, that implies 40 questions. The applicant is given an appointment to sit the test, may reschedule once, and must sit within thirty days of the original date unless there are exceptional circumstances. An applicant who does not sit within thirty days has the application determined with zero points under this factor. No separate test fee appears in the Caymanian Protection (Fees) Regulations, 2026.

For an applicant short of 110, twenty points that depend on study rather than on years of residence or on capital are the largest block reachable on a short timescale. The free practice test on this site uses original questions with the source cited under every answer, and the spoke the History and Culture test explained covers format, reading list and how the points are awarded.

Factor 7: close Caymanian connections (maximum 100)

Factor 7 has four tiers, all based on blood relationship to a Caymanian, and they do not stack (Explanation 4):

• 100 points: a Cuban national who is the parent, son or daughter of a Caymanian and was granted permission to reside by the Governor in Executive Council.
• 80 points: a Cuban national who is the brother, sister or grandparent of a Caymanian with the same permission.
• 40 points: the parent, son or daughter of a Caymanian.
• 20 points: the brother, sister or grandparent of a Caymanian who has not already received 40 points under the line above.

The Cuban-national tiers were available only for applications received within six months of the commencement of the Immigration (Amendment) Regulations, 2013, and are dormant. For a current applicant the live values are 40 and 20. Two misconceptions are worth stating plainly. The 40 points are a single tier for being the parent, son or daughter of a Caymanian, not 40 per child. And marriage to a Caymanian is not a Factor 7 route at all; Schedule 2 lists no marriage-based tier. A spouse of a Caymanian has a separate immigration pathway that does not run through the points assessment.

Factor 8: demographic and cultural diversity (maximum 10)

Factor 8 scores the applicant's country of origin by its share of work permits in effect: a nationality exceeding 10% of the work-permit population scores 0; between 5% and 10% scores 5; not exceeding 5% scores 10. Schedule 2 states the percentage rule, not a list of countries. The country-to-tier mapping is administrative and follows WORC's work-permit statistics; commentary from Cayman law firms has placed Jamaican and Filipino nationals in the 0-point tier and British, American and Canadian nationals in the 5-point tier, with most other nationalities at 10. Those placements move if the statistics move.

This factor has been litigated. The Grand Court found the points system unconstitutional in part in March 2023; the Privy Council reversed that finding unanimously on 28 April 2025, upholding section 37(3); and in March 2026 the Immigration Appeals Tribunal held that a dual national is scored at the higher of the two nationality values. The spoke Factor 8 and the court rulings sets out each decision neutrally.

Factor 9: age distribution (maximum 10)

Age is scored at the date of application: 18 to 24 scores 4; 25 to 35 scores 10; 36 to 45 scores 8; 46 to 65 scores 6; 66 and above scores 0. An applicant aged 66 or over remains eligible and simply scores zero here. Because most applicants file after eight or more years in the Islands, the bracket at filing is often one lower than the bracket at arrival. The calculator projects the bracket to the planned application date rather than scoring today's age.

Deductions the calculator does not make

Schedule 2 ends with two deductible components. Up to 100 points may be deducted for character and health matters: criminal convictions whose nature would make continued presence contrary to the public interest, communicable disease or mental impairment certified by a Health Officer, administrative fines for statutory offences, and lack of a reasonably funded pension plan. A further unlimited deduction covers "other mitigating factors", the example given being proven mistreatment of fellow workers. In each case the Board or the Chief Immigration Officer must justify any deduction in writing and show it was reasonable and proportionate. These deductions are discretionary and case-specific, so the calculator surfaces them as flags rather than subtracting points.

Eight years first, then 110 points

The points only matter once the time gate is passed. Section 37(1) requires eight years of legal and ordinary residence. Press coverage in 2025 reported that the requirement would rise to nine years from 1 May 2026; that clause was in the February 2025 draft Bill and was not enacted. The Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025 (Act 14 of 2025) amends section 37 only for non-Caymanian civil servants, the new annual declaration and the spouse certificate, and leaves subsection (1) and the words "eight years" untouched. The nine-year worker term limit in section 66(1) is likewise unchanged. The roll-over calculator gives both dates from a work-permit start date, and the spoke what changed for PR on 1 May 2026 lists what the two Amendment Acts did alter.

A person who applies during the currency of a work permit may seek permission from the Director of WORC to continue working on the same terms until the application and any appeal are determined (section 66(4)). That permission is what carries an applicant across the nine-year term limit while a decision is pending. No statutory deadline binds the decision itself.

What it costs

Government fees changed on 1 May 2026 under the Caymanian Protection (Fees) Regulations, 2026. The application fee for permanent residence after eight years, previously a flat CI$1,000, is now tiered by the annual work-permit fee for the applicant's occupation: CI$1,500 where that fee is CI$2,100 or less, CI$2,500 between CI$2,101 and CI$10,400, and CI$5,000 above CI$10,400. Each dependant included in the grant costs CI$350, CI$525 or CI$750 per year on the same bands, and holders now file an annual declaration with a CI$250 fee. The issue fee on grant and the annual fee equivalent to a full work permit were not amended. The PR cost calculator itemises every line with its citation, and the spoke PR fees and timeline in 2026 walks through the sequence from the test sitting to the first annual declaration.

Reading a score

Putting the factors together for a typical work-permit holder with no Caymanian relatives: Factor 1 gives 15 in work; Factor 2 gives between 12 and 25 depending on degree and years in the field; Factor 4 gives between 7 and 30 depending on income band and local savings; Factor 9 gives 6 to 10 depending on age at filing; Factor 8 gives 0, 5 or 10 depending on nationality. That baseline lands anywhere between the mid-40s and the mid-80s. The remaining distance to 110 is closed by the three factors an applicant can act on: local investment (up to 30), community involvement (up to 20, earned year by year) and the History and Culture test (up to 20).

Which of those three is realistic depends on income, years remaining before the planned application, and appetite for property or business investment, which is why this site's calculator presents a gap analysis by category rather than a single recipe. It shows how many points remain reachable in each factor by the planned date, and by when a Factor 5 activity has to start for a given year to count. The choice of activities, charities and investments stays with the reader, and eligibility questions belong with a licensed Cayman Islands immigration attorney.

Where the numbers come from

Every value on this page is read from Schedule 2 of the Immigration Regulations (2025 Revision), published on legislation.gov.ky and revised as at 31 December 2024, pages 100 to 109. The residence and term-limit periods are read from the Immigration (Transition) Act (2022 Revision), sections 37(1) and 66(1), as left in force by the Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Acts 2025 and 2026, both commenced 1 May 2026 (gov.ky immigration-reform page). Fees are read from the Caymanian Protection (Fees) Regulations, 2026 as set out in the Ministry's Immigration Reform Guide fee tables of 29 April 2026. Case law is reported by the Cayman Compass (Grand Court, 31 March 2023; Privy Council judgment of 28 April 2025, reported 29 April) and Cayman News Service (Immigration Appeals Tribunal, March 2026). The rubric encoded in the calculator carries the version tag v2026-01 and was last reviewed on 30 August 2026; a change to any of these instruments produces a visible version change, not a silent edit.

Nothing on this page is legal advice. It describes the rules as published; how they apply to one person's history, family and passport is a question for a licensed Cayman Islands immigration attorney, and the contact page passes referral requests on.

The calculator's free tier scores a profile today and saves it to a private account. Cayman Costs Plus adds the projection to the planned application date, the annual-cap tracker for Factor 5, alerts when a statute or the rubric changes, an evidence vault for the letters and statements Schedule 2 asks for, and an application pack that prints the whole record with its citations. The newsletter below carries statute notices only, in plain language, when something on this page changes.