Caymans expat demographic flips towards Asians

Once an offshore, tax free haven for expats from the USA and Europe, the Caymans Islands are now attracting more Asians than ever before.

Until recently, the British accounted for the majority of work permits allocated to expat incomers, but the tables are now turning towards Asians, expatriate Jamaicans and Indians. According to employment data released by the Immigration Department, Jamaicans hold almost 11,000 work permits followed by Filipinos with 3,636. The number of British citizens holding work permits has fallen to 1,798 with Indian permit holders at 1,168. Over the past two years, numbers of expat professionals from the USA and the UK have steadily decreased, with the American total falling by 16 per cent and their jobs taken over by Indians.

Anecdotal local evidence for this unusual shift in expat demographics towards Asian countries might provide the answer in that, in 2014, Health City Cayman Island was established. Its demands for medical and ancillary expat talent undoubtedly brought a good number of qualified or experienced expat staff to the facility, with Filipinos especially attracted to both the locale and the jobs. A recent survey by a UK-based business management company showed relocating employees overseas as a global trend which began at least two decades ago. Over those years, significant changes to the expat demographic have developed, with Asian countries coming to the fore as suppliers of specific talent.

The survey also investigated the contrast between the typical expat 20 years ago and the present day expatriate professional. One unchanged aspect was the age and sex of the majority of expatriates – between the ages of 35 and 50, and male. By 2016, the split between USA and European expats and their Asian counterparts was almost equal, with less expatriate relocations including families and the majority involving shorter reassignments, many of which were used as talent and career development programmes. As regards the Caymans, as yet the islands haven’t been the focus of increasing number of expats from other Asian destinations whose expats are instead flocking to the Middle East and other Caribbean destinations.