You are now a Permanent Resident of the Cayman Islands, congratulations! You are on your way to Cayman Status, but before this, there is one more step to take – to be naturalised as a British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC) of the Cayman Islands.

Once you have held Permanent Residency for 12 months (and have lived in the Cayman Islands for at least five years), you can apply to be naturalised under the British Nationality Act for Naturalisation as a BOTC under a connection with the Cayman Islands.

Applying for naturalisation falls under the Office of the Deputy Governor of the Cayman Islands. Once naturalised, you become a BOTC.

But What Does it Mean to be Naturalised?

Naturalisation entitles you to apply for a Cayman Islands passport but doesn’t grant you Caymanian status or citizenship. Ultimately it is the path you must take for the next step from Permanent Residency on the route to applying for the right to be Caymanian based on residency.

The Cayman Islands may be one of the only countries in the world where you can apply for that country’s passport without first becoming a fully-fledged citizen. With naturalisation, you are becoming a BOTC, with a travel document issued by the Cayman Islands.

How Do you Apply?

Our team at CML will start the process and work with you to collect all the relevant documents. There are a couple of numbers and dates you will be required to have on hand, as well as the following documents:



• Applicant File Number – first issued by the department of immigration
• Date of first arrival in the Cayman Islands to reside
• Letter of Permanent Residence
• Residency and Employment Rights Certificate
• Employment Letter
• Original Birth Certificate
• Data/Photo Page of Passport
• Divorce Decree (if required)
• Marriage Certificate (if required)
• Recent Full-Face Colour Photo

All your documents must be certified copies by Justice of the Peace or a Notary Public; wisely, CML has one on their immigration team. The documents listed above are for applicants that are already Permanent Resident holders.

The application also requires two referees, and CML will provide you with a convenient form to collect the relevant information.

Contact our experienced Immigration Team at CML by calling 623-1025 or emailing cml@cml.ky for more information. We will provide a comprehensive checklist and make the process as seamless as possible. The application itself takes approximately 3 to 4 months to be processed and approved, and our team will then confirm your Pledge Ceremony date