Bonus 1

The Live-In Caregiver Program

The Live-in Caregiver Program provides professional caregivers for employment in Canada. Caregivers are individuals who are qualified to care independently for children, the elderly or people who have disabilities.

There are three main requirements you will have to meet to qualify under the Live-in Caregiver Program:

• Successful completion of the equivalent of a Canadian high school education. This   requirement will help to ensure that participants who apply for permanent residence after two years will be able to succeed in the general labor market. Studies indicate that the majority of new jobs in Canada require at least a high school education.  

•  Six months of full-time training or 12 months of experience in paid employment in a field or occupation related to the job you are seeking as a live-in caregiver. You may have gained your training or experience in early childhood education, geriatric care, pediatric nursing or first aid, to name just a few areas. You may have completed your training as part of your formal education. In order to meet the criteria for experience, you must have completed one year of full-time paid employment, including at least six months of continuous employment with one employer, in that field or occupation. This experience must have been obtained within the three years immediately prior to the day on which you submit an application for an employment authorization to a Visa Officer.  

• Ability to speak read and understand either English or French. You must be able to function independently in a home setting. For example, you must be able to contact emergency services if required and to understand labels on medication. You will be unsupervised for most of the day and may be put in a position of having to communicate with someone outside the home. A good knowledge of English or French will also enable you to read and understand for yourself what your rights and obligations are. 

Live-in Criteria

An important requirement of the Program is that employees must live in the employer's home. The Live-in Caregiver Program exists only because there is a shortage of Canadians to fill the need for live-in care work. There is no shortage of Canadian workers available for care giving positions where there is no live-in requirement.

Fees

You must pay a fee for the processing of your application when you submit it. You can contact the Canadian consulate, embassy or high commission nearest you to find out the amount of the fee. The amount is revised from time to time to reflect the cost involved in processing applications. Since the fee only covers the cost of processing the application, you will not get your money back if the visa office refuses your application. Therefore, we suggest that you review the program requirements carefully before making an application.

There will also be costs for a medical examination, passport and travel. You are responsible for these costs as well as the processing fee mentioned above unless your employer offers to pay them for you.

The Application Procedure

Your employer will submit a request to hire you at a Human Resources Centre (HRC) in Canada. The HRC will ensure that no Canadians, permanent residents or other temporary workers already in Canada are qualified and available to take the employer's offer of employment. Once the offer of employment has been validated by the HRC and sent to the visa office in your country, an official from the visa office will contact you to determine whether you are eligible to come to Canada as a live-in caregiver.

You will be asked for your diplomas, school certificates or transcripts listing the courses you have taken. Be honest about your education, training and experience because you could be disqualified from the program if you are not. Your marital status and the number of children you have will not affect the outcome of your application; you must be honest in providing this information.

If the visa office approves your application, you will be given instructions for medical tests. When our officials receive proof that your medical results are satisfactory and that you have met all other requirements, you will be issued an employment authorization. An employment authorization is not a travel document. You must also get a passport (and a visitor visa, if required). The requirement for a visitor visa will depend on the country you are coming from.

Because of the existence of an agreement between the federal government and the province of Quebec, there are differences in the way the Program operates for caregivers who will be working in Quebec. For more information, refer to the booklet published by the government of Quebec entitled Working as a Live-in Caregiver in Quebec: A guide for foreign workers and their employers.

The Employment Authorization

An employment authorization from a Canadian visa office will allow you to work in Canada as a live-in caregiver. The employment authorization is usually valid for one year. Make sure you renew your employment authorization before it expires. It is now possible to do this by mail through the Canada Immigration Centre. You will need a letter from your employer stating that your job as a live-in caregiver is being offered for another year. Include this letter in your application to renew your employment authorization. Remember that the document authorizes you to work only for the employer named on the employment authorization. However, this does not mean you cannot change employers for personal or other reasons. If that is the case, you must apply for and have received a new employment authorization before you go to work for the new employer. Both you and your employer should be aware that you are free to change employers while in Canada. Immigration Canada will not deport you for looking for another place to work.

Involvement in any illegal activity could result in the cancellation of your permission to work in Canada. You cannot, for example, work for any employer except the employer named on your employment authorization. Furthermore, you cannot accept employment except as a live-in caregiver nor can you work for a new employer, even for a "trial period," until you have a new employment authorization.

Applying for Permanent Residence in Canada

You need to complete at least two years of employment as a live-in caregiver to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Please note that the two-year requirement does not include any extended time away from Canada. For example, if you go away on vacation for three months, that time will not be included as part of the two years of employment. In some countries, you may need to reapply for a visitor visa to return to Canada. If you leave Canada for more than one year or if your employment authorization has expired, you will have to reapply to the overseas visa office to return to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program. Program participants who wish to leave the Program and return permanently to their home country are free to do so at any time. However, adequate notice should be given to the employer.

Your application for permanent resident status could be cancelled if you misrepresented your education, training or experience to the Visa Officer when you first applied under the Program.

If you apply to stay in Canada, you must complete an application for permanent resident status. At that time, you must prove you worked as a full-time live-in caregiver for two years. To do this, you can use a statement of earnings or T4 slips as well as any other documentation you believe would help to prove your work record. If you changed jobs since your arrival, you should have a record of employment from each of your former employers. You will not have an ROE for your present job. If you have used your ROEs to apply for employment insurance, HRC staff can help you get copies if you need them.

Your application for permanent residence in Canada will not be assessed on the basis of your financial situation, skills upgrading in Canada, volunteer work, marital status or the number of dependants you may have back home. However, you could be found to be ineligible for permanent residence if you, your spouse or any of your dependent children have a criminal record or a serious medical problem.

Live-in caregivers who work in Quebec will also be assessed on additional criteria, including knowledge of French, by provincial authorities. For further information, see the booklet published by the Quebec government, entitled Working as a Live-in Caregiver in Quebec: A guide for foreign workers and their employers.

Open Employment

Once you have received a favorable assessment on your application for permanent resident status, you may apply for an open employment authorization. This will allow you to take any job you wish until you are granted permanent resident status. You will not receive your permanent resident status immediately. Normally, there are many people applying for permanent residence in Canada at any given time, and you must wait your turn.

Family Members

All your dependants can be included in your application for permanent residence and they can obtain their permanent resident status at the same time as you. Your dependants abroad will be processed for permanent residence at the visa office in their country of residence, and they will not be issued their immigrant visas until you have received yours, provided that the entire family passes medical and criminal screening and all other requirements are met. All your dependants must pass medical and background checks even if they are not applying to join you in Canada right away. You cannot be granted permanent resident status until all your dependants have passed their medical and background checks