Work Permit Cost Calculator (Cayman Islands)

Pick an occupation to see the full employer cost of a Cayman work permit.

Occupation (as listed in the fee schedule)

Island

Permit type

Dependants

Express determination Cayman Enterprise City (special economic zone) employer

Assumptions and sources

All fees from the Caymanian Protection (Fees) Regulations, 2026 (SL 20 of 2026), in force since 1 May 2026. Occupation fees from Part 2 of the Schedule; process fees from Part 1 Category B; Cayman Enterprise City from Part 3.
Work permit and related fees are payable by the employer, by law.
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman fees are 75% of the Grand Cayman fee. The separate schedule for hotels with 200 or more rooms lists a single fee. One occupation (Senior Corporate Assistant, Legal Activities) is gazetted with different Brac and Little Cayman fees, an apparent drafting error in the law; we show it verbatim.
Fee bands (application, express, dependant fees) are applied on the annual permit fee payable for the selected island.
The CI$250 repatriation fee applies per applicant and per dependant at grant only (the regulations exclude it on renewal). The CI$50 permit ID card fee is listed on both grant and renewal (items 19.6 and 20.6), so it is included in both totals.
Express fees are refundable if no decision is communicated within 14 business days (annual) or 48 hours (temporary). Express fees for 91-180 day and seasonal permits are not tabulated in the regulations and are not included.
Cayman Enterprise City employers pay a flat CI$1,230 annual fee per employee and are exempt from Part 2 fees, application fees and dependant fees.
All figures are Cayman Islands dollars, exactly as the fee schedule lists them. Not included: recruitment, medicals, police clearance, agent fees, pension and health insurance obligations.

Common occupations at a glance

Annual occupation fee (Grand Cayman) and a typical first-year total for a grant with no dependants and no express fee (occupation fee + application + repatriation + ID card). Sister Islands fees are 25% lower.

Occupation	Sector	Annual fee	Typical first year
Domestic Helper	Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel	CI$150	CI$600
Waiter/Waitress (Food and beverage server)	Hotels and Restaurants	CI$1,050	CI$1,500
Chef	Hotels and Restaurants	CI$2,100	CI$2,550
Bartender	Hotels and Restaurants	CI$1,575	CI$2,025
Housekeeper	Hotels and Restaurants	CI$500	CI$950
Registered Nurse	Human Health Activities	CI$1,050	CI$1,500
Medical Doctor, general practice	Human Health Activities	CI$13,650	CI$14,450
Teacher, Primary	Primary Education	Nil	CI$450
Hairdresser	Hairdressing, beauty treatment and other personal service activities	CI$1,575	CI$2,025
Auto Mechanic	Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	CI$2,100	CI$2,550
Mason, stone	Construction of Buildings or Civil Engineering	CI$2,100	CI$2,550
Journeyman Plumber	Construction of Buildings or Civil Engineering	CI$2,100	CI$2,550
Landscaper	Landscaping and Gardening Activities	CI$2,100	CI$2,550
Junior Software Developer/Programmer	Retail Trade, Except of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles	CI$4,600	CI$5,150
Real Estate Salesperson/Broker/Real Estate Agent	Real Estate Activities	CI$6,000	CI$6,550
Architect	Construction of Buildings or Civil Engineering	CI$11,700	CI$12,500
Accountant (CA, ACCA, CPA)	Activities auxiliary to financial services, insurance activities and pension funding	CI$13,650	CI$14,450
Lawyer/Solicitor/Barrister/Attorney-at-Law/Associate	Legal Activities	CI$16,250	CI$17,050
Director, being an Attorney-at-Law or Equity Partner	Legal Activities	CI$32,400	CI$33,200

Work permit fees, quick answers

How much does a Cayman Islands work permit cost?

The annual work permit fee depends on the occupation, from Nil (teachers, clergy) to CI$32,400 for the most senior legal roles. Most trades fall between CI$1,000 and CI$4,000 a year and most professional roles between CI$6,000 and CI$16,250. On top of the occupation fee, a grant costs a banded application fee of CI$150 to CI$500, a CI$250 repatriation fee per person and a CI$50 permit ID card fee.

Who pays for a work permit in the Cayman Islands?

The employer. Applying for a work permit and paying all work permit fees is the legal obligation of the employer, not the employee.

Did Cayman work permit fees go up in 2026?

The occupation fees themselves did not change in the 1 May 2026 overhaul, but the fees around them rose sharply. The application fee went from a flat CI$100 to a banded CI$150 to CI$500, the repatriation fee from CI$200 to CI$250, and new express determination fees of CI$100 to CI$300 were introduced for annual permits.

Are work permits cheaper on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman?

Yes. Annual occupation fees on the Sister Islands are 75% of the Grand Cayman fee under the Caymanian Protection (Fees) Regulations, 2026.

How much does a temporary work permit cost in Cayman?

A temporary work permit of up to 90 days costs a flat banded fee between CI$100 and CI$1,500 depending on the occupation, plus an application fee of CI$150 to CI$500. Permits of 91 to 180 days cost 50% of the annual occupation fee.

Notes from the legislation: quirks in the fee schedule

While turning the 85-page fee regulations into this tool we found a few things worth knowing. Everything below is verbatim from the gazetted law (SL 20 of 2026) and verified against the source PDF.

One occupation has two different Sister Islands fees. Senior Corporate Assistant (Legal Activities) is gazetted at CI$4,600 for Grand Cayman, CI$3,450 for Cayman Brac and CI$1,575 for Little Cayman (Schedule Part 2, p.30). The Little Cayman figure is identical to the row above it, which suggests a drafting error, but the gazetted number is the payable number. We show it verbatim.
The regulations misnumber themselves. The gazetted document is titled "SL 14 of 2026" on every page; an official Notice of Erratum corrected the designation to SL 20 of 2026. Citations here use SL 20.
Fee bands run on the fee "payable". Application, dependant and express fees are banded by the size of the annual permit fee, and the tables band on the fee "payable" (items 18.5, 20.7). We read that as the island-adjusted amount, so a discounted Sister Islands permit can also drop into a lower application-fee band.
Express lanes only exist for some permits. Express determination fees are tabulated for annual permits (CI$100 to 300, 14-business-day promise) and temporary permits up to 90 days (CI$300 to 900, 48-hour promise). No express fee exists for 91-180 day or seasonal permits, in either the regulations or the Ministry's official Immigration Reform Guide, so the calculator does not offer one there.
The Domestic Helper fee skips the Sister Islands discount. At CI$150 a year it is printed flat across all three islands, the only paid occupation in the schedule without the 75% Sister Islands rate.
The 200+ room hotel schedule has its own quirks. It lists a single fee per occupation with no island split, prints a few occupations twice (Guest Relations Coordinator, Banquet Houseman), and includes "General Manager of Hotels (Up To 50 Rooms)" at CI$27,675 despite being the schedule for hotels with 200 or more rooms.
Teachers and clergy are free. Every occupation in the education sectors and Minister of Religion carries a Nil annual fee. Application, repatriation and card fees still apply.
The 2026 "fee hikes" never touched the occupation fees. The 1 May 2026 overhaul raised the process fees around the permit (application, repatriation, dependants) and introduced the express fees; every annual occupation fee carried over unchanged.
The Ministry's own guidebook disagrees with the law on one fee. The official Immigration Reform Guide lists the temporary work permit extension application at a flat CI$250, while the regulations band it at CI$150 to 500 (item 16.2). The guidebook also omits the annual-permit express fees and the CI$50 permit ID card fee entirely. Where the two differ, the gazetted regulations prevail, and that is what this tool uses.

For how the system works (who can apply, timelines, what changed on 1 May 2026, and the Cayman Enterprise City alternative), read the companion guide: Work Permit Costs in the Cayman Islands. The full schedule for every occupation is in the work permit fee table.