Country receives applications for Global Citizen scheme

GEORGE TOWN:

THE DIRECTOR of Tourism in this British Overseas territory, Rosa Harris, has said that to date, over 70 people have applied to join Cayman’s Global Citizenship Concierge programme, which would allow them to live and work remotely here for up to two years.

Speaking at a Cayman I slands Tourism Association f orum on Wednesday, the tourism director said that 32 applications had been received and more are expected, based on the level of interest the programme’s website was garnering.

She said that there has been much interest in the initiative overseas, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, noting that 12,000 people had visited its webpage, with 49,000 page views recorded.

The digital nomad programme was also featured in 242 media outlets worldwide, and it is hoped that at least 100 people will end up being approved for Global Citizen status, as well as their dependents and spouses, who would be high-net-worth visitors.

She said it takes between 15 and 19 days for an application to reach the approval stage but that “will definitely shrink”.

The approval process involves many steps – including submitting bank and income details - and several agencies, including Customs and Border Control and Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman, are involved in carrying out background checks and verifying information.

Under the requirements of the programme, applicants must earn a minimum income of US$100,000 annually if applying as an individual or US$150,000 annually if applying with an accompanying spouse or civil partner.

If the applicant has dependents, that minimum income increases to US$180,000.

They also must provide proof of health-insurance coverage and pay a non-refundable annual fee of $1,469 for up to two people, with an additional $500 yearly per dependent.