NOTICE: Only credit/debit cards payments will be accepted for the payment of this facility.  All major credit cards will be accepted, except American Express, to pay the CI$100.00 or US$121.95 equivalent fee. 

The Visitor Work Visa allows certain visitors to the Islands to engage in commercial activities without a work permit for a period not exceeding five calendar days. The visitor shall pay an administrative filing fee of CI$100.00 (payable by credit/debit card only) after satisfactorily meeting all entry and landing requirements as well as meeting all eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Visitor’s Work Visa a person must -

·         Be employed full time by a company, individual or institution outside the Cayman Islands

·         Be coming to the Islands for the purpose of engaging in commercial activity with one or more persons or licensed business entities in the Islands for no more than five calendar days and be formally sponsored by that person or business entity by way of an invitation letter

·         Be proposing to engage in a commercial activity that would otherwise require a work permit

·         Be eligible for the grant of a work permit (in other words, not be barred from the grant of a work permit on the basis of an expired term limit)

·         Be ineligible for one of the activities listed in Regulation 11 of the Immigration Regulations

·         Possess a valid visa for the Cayman Islands if required

·         Not be a ‘professional employee’ as defined in the Immigration (Transition) Law, 2018 ¹

·         Not have held a Visitor’s Work Visa for the same sponsor or sponsors in the same calendar month.

¹’Professional employee’ is defined as meaning a person qualified as a lawyer, accountant, medical professional, architect, surveyor, teacher, minister of religion or a person qualified in any other occupation that may be prescribed. Note – no other occupations have been prescribed.

Application process

No less than 24 hours prior to the proposed arrival of a visitor being sponsored by a local person or business entity that person or entity must send to Customs and Border Control a standard form letter confirming their sponsorship. Where the visitor is being sponsored by more than one person or entity each must provide a letter of sponsorship. The letter(s) of sponsorship must be sent via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The standard form letter of sponsorship is available from the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control website.

The submission of this letter of invitation does not represent an application made for an immigration facility. The submission will serve as your invitation and introduction only of a prospective visitor whom a VWV may be issued. The second phase leading to any decisions regarding the grant of this permission will be subsequent to visitor’s arrival and after he/she has satisfactory met all entry and landing requirements.

Visitors and their local sponsors seeking to use this facility should note that a Visitor’s Work Visa may not be extended or renewed unless the Director of Customs and Border Control is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances and only then for a further five calendar days after which the holder must leave the Islands. To apply for an extension of a Visitor’s Work Visa a request must be made in writing to the Director of Customs and Border Control prior to the expiration of the first Visitor’s Work Visa and the request must be accompanied by an administrative filing fee of CI$100.

Further information pertaining to the requirements and limitations of a Visitor’s Work Visa are provided for at section 12 of the Customs and Border Control (Visas, Entry and Landing) Regulations.

Entitlements

A person granted a Visitor’s Work Visa is entitled to engage in commercial activity only with his sponsor or sponsors. The holder of a Visitor’s Work Visa or a prospective employer is not permitted to apply for a work permit whilst in the Islands.

Refusal of a Visitor’s Work Visa

An application for a Visitor’s Work Visa may be refused if –

1. the applicant is required to have and does not possess a valid entry visa;
2. Customs and Border Control has not received a letter or letters of sponsorship in the required form from the person or business entity in the Islands in respect of the applicant;
3. the applicant is a prohibited immigrant;
4. in the opinion of a Customs and Border Control Officer the sponsorship of the applicant is not genuine;
5. in the opinion of a Customs and Border Control Officer the applicant’s presence in the Islands is not conducive to the public good;