Caregiver Program in Canada

Changes in the Live in Caregiver Program

In November 30, 2014, big changes happened to Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program. The live-in caregivers are individuals who are qualified to provide care for persons with disabilities, elderly persons or provide care for children. They need to provide this care inside of a private home without supervision. Another requirement is that they must actually live inside of the homes where they work in Canada. If they do not live inside of the home, then they must apply for a regular work visa. However, if they live within the home that they work at, then they can apply for the Live-in Caregiver Program work permit. The caregiver and employer have requirements of them in order to meet the requirements of the LCP.

However, because of the new additions to the Caregiver program, it has introduced two new pathways to apply for permanent residence under this program:

• Caring for Children, for caregivers provide childcare in a home, they are either living in the home or not.
• Caring for People with High Medical Needs, caregivers who have provided care for the elderly or those with disabilities or chronic disease at a higher skill levels in a health facility or in a home, regardless of whether they are living with them or not.

  For these pathways, the caregiver is not required to live in the home of the employer, but they will need to work in Canada with a work permit for two years, and they will need to meet the requirements for language ability and education in order to apply for permanent residence.

  Eligibility

  Eligibility requirements for the Caregiver Program:

• A positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from an employer in Canada
• A written contract with your future employer, signed by you and the employer
• Successful completion of the equivalent of a Canadian secondary school education
• At least six months’ training or at least one year of full-time paid work experience as a caregiver or in a related field or occupation in the past three years
• Good knowledge of English or French
• A work permit before you enters Canada.
  

  Inadmissible

  Reasons why you could be denied entrance into Canada and therefore kept from qualifying for the Caregiver Program:

• You are a security risk,
• You have committed human or international rights violations,
• You have been convicted of a crime, or have committed an act outside of Canada that would be a crime,
• You have ties to organized crime,
• You have a serious health problem,
• You have a serious financial problem,
• You lied on your application or in an interview,
• You do not meet the conditions in Canada’s immigration law, or
• One of your family members is not allowed into Canada.

  Live-in Caregiver Program is still one of the pathways to apply for permanent residence. Once you have fulfilled the work requirement off the LCP, you are working in Canada as a live-in caregiver, and have a positive LMIA submitted by November 30^th, 2014; you can still apply for permanent residence.

  Contact Akrami & Associates

  As a caregiver, there are many different pathways to applying for permanent residency. Allow our legal professionals to help drive your application for permanent residence, we will steer you down the right path. If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.