s.84Application for asylum
84
Section 84Part 7 — Asylum

Application for asylum

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A person who is in legal custody under section 72(1) or a person to whom permission to remain in the Islands has been granted under section 67(1) or 72(2) may apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for asylum, and in considering such application the Chief Immigration Officer shall have regard to the Refugee Convention and any directions given by the Governor relating to asylum applications.
For the purposes of this Part, a person is eligible to apply for asylum if —
he is at least eighteen years of age or is an unaccompanied minor;
he is in the Islands; and
the application for asylum has been made by him at a place designated by the Governor.
A person specified under subsection (4) may also apply for asylum for his dependant children under eighteen years of age that are with him in the Islands.
A person whose application under subsection (1) has been successful shall be granted leave to remain indefinitely in the Islands and the right to work for any employer in any occupation.
The Chief Immigration Officer may revoke a person’s indefinite leave granted under this section if someone of whom he is a dependant ceases to be a refugee as a result of —
voluntarily availing himself of the protection of his country of nationality;
voluntarily acquiring a lost nationality;
acquiring the nationality of a country other than the Cayman Islands and availing himself of its protection; or
voluntarily establishing himself in a country in respect of which he was a refugee.
Notwithstanding section 14, a person whose application for asylum has been refused may appeal to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal, within fourteen days of his being notified of the decision, against the refusal on the grounds that requiring him to leave the Islands would be contrary to the Refugee Convention.
Neither an applicant for asylum nor an appellant against the decision of the Chief Immigration Officer shall be required to leave the Islands pending the outcome of his application or appeal; and, for the purposes of this section, an application or appeal is pending —
beginning on the date when it is submitted or instituted; and
ending on the date when the applicant or appellant —
is formally notified of the outcome of the application or appeal; or
withdraws or abandons the application or appeal.
Where an application is made for asylum, it shall be recorded by the Chief Immigration Officer who, if satisfied that the application was made as soon as reasonably practicable after the applicant’s arrival in the Islands, shall —
on being satisfied that for obvious and compelling reasons the applicant cannot be returned to his country of origin or nationality, grant him exceptional leave to remain in the Islands; and
make arrangements for his support, accommodation and upkeep.
The grant of exceptional leave under this section —
does not confer on the grantee any right to gainful occupation in the Islands; and
may be revoked, varied or modified by the Chief Immigration Officer.
Where an applicant under this Part is to be deported to a country of which he is a national or citizen and —
he does not possess a passport or other travel document; and
the country to which he is to be deported requires the Chief Immigration Officer to provide identification data in respect of the applicant as a condition of the admission of the applicant to that country, the Chief Immigration Officer shall provide the requested data but shall not disclose whether the applicant had sought asylum.
The Governor’s deportation order in respect of a person who has been refused asylum may require the master of a vessel —
to remove the person from the Islands; and
to bear the cost of such removal, including the cost of providing escorts to and from the receiving country.
Where a person who has applied for or intends to apply for asylum is desirous of voluntarily leaving the Islands for a country in which he hopes to take up residence, the Chief Immigration Officer may render to him —
advice and other help in relation to his proposed journey; and
financial assistance to defray the cost of his travel and upkeep.
For the purposes of this Part, the Governor may give directions to the Chief Immigration Officer in relation to the consideration of applications for asylum and promulgate rules for the hearing of appeals under subsection (6), and such directions and rules shall be published in the Gazette.

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