Opposition lawmakers have condemned the government’s decision to sharply raise driving and vehicle licence fees for non-Caymanians starting in September, arguing the increases are unfair and will filter through to Caymanian households and businesses.
Currently, Caymanians and non-Caymanians pay the same licensing fees. The new fee schedule changes that, making licensing for non-Caymanians up to eight times higher than for Caymanians.
The new rates, set out in the Traffic (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (SL 34 of 2026), establish a CI$2,000 fee for non-Caymanians for a 10-year driver’s licence, compared to $250 for Caymanians. The one-year licence increases to $200 for non-Caymanians, compared to $25 for Caymanians.
The higher fees are a revenue measure established in the 2026–2027 budget, which the government projects will raise an additional CI$9.6 million in 2026 and 2027.
“I think it’s rubbish,” Red Bay MP Roy Tatum told Cayman Independent. “It’s just not necessary.”
Tatum drew a contrast between who can absorb the higher fees and who cannot: lawyers and accountants versus his aunt’s caregiver and constituents’ nannies and drivers. He worried that the burden of the higher fees could force drivers off the books and further increase the divide between Caymanians and foreign residents.
Various constituents, he said, had expressed concern to him about the likelihood of having to absorb the fees themselves to ensure that domestic workers and other employees would be able to continue working.
“I have one guy who said, ‘I have 10 drivers. If I have to pay the licences for all these people, that is a significant amount of money for my small business’,” Tatum said.
He questioned why the Chamber of Commerce had not contested the increases while they were being debated by lawmakers, and instead waited to express its concern in recent weeks. Cayman Independent has contacted the chamber for comment.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Kenneth Bryan, speaking on a recent episode of Radio Cayman’s For the Record, also framed the issue in economic terms, arguing the measure would trickle down to homeowners, borrowers, businesses and consumers. He argued that removing money from the economy through successive revenue measures risked raising the overall cost of living.
In the November 2025 sitting of Finance Committee, Planning Minister Jay Ebanks, whose ministry oversees the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing, estimated that 50,000 non-Caymanians and 16,000 Caymanians are licensed.
During that meeting, Bryan questioned the legal basis for charging non-Caymanians different fees, recalling failed attempts to distinguish by nationality on fishing rights. Ebanks said at the time that a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s chambers was still being sought.
