LIVE-IN CAREGIVER PROGRAM

Caregivers are Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada. What differentiates caregivers from other temporary foreign workers is the fact that a few exclusive federal immigration programs available to caregivers, which means they have a direct pathway to permanent residence in Canada.

LIVE-IN CAREGIVER PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Canadian families hire foreign caregivers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to take care of children, seniors or persons with medical needs.

In order to become a caregiver, the foreign worker must first receive a valid job offer from a Canadian family. Then the employer has to apply for and obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from ESDC/Services Canada. Then the foreign worker can apply for a temporary work permit with the job offer as well as the positive LMIA.

There are two categories of caregivers and Canada families can hire them on a live-in or live-out basis

Caregivers for children

• Children under the age of 18 years

Caregivers for people with high medical needs

• Elderly persons above the age of 65 years; or
• People with disabilities, a chronic or terminal illness

APPLYING FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

Depending upon your level of education, age, work experience, and language proficiency, a caregiver may apply for permanent residence through various immigration programs at the federal or provincial level. To find out how you can seek the help of experienced immigration experts. Take up our free online assessment to explore your options for permanent residence here.

As a caregiver, a foreign worker can apply for permanent residence in Canada under three economic immigration programs:

1. LIVE-IN CAREGIVER PROGRAM

The Live-in Caregiver program is exclusively meant for those working in Canada on a specific Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) work permit. Canada stopped issuing LCP work permits in 2014. To be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Live-in Caregiver Program, your work experience must be:

• Authorized full-time live-in employment of 24 months in Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program, or
• Authorized full-time live-in employment in Canada of 3,900 hours (within a minimum of 22 months including up to 390 hours of overtime) under the Live-in Caregiver Program.
• Work experience must have been acquired within four years of arriving in Canada.

2. CARING FOR THE CHILDREN PROGRAM

To apply for permanent residence under this program, you must meet the following requirements:

WORK EXPERIENCE

Full-time (30 hours/week) Canadian work experience of at least 24 months as a home childcare provider (National Occupational Classification (NOC) 4411). The candidate must have gained the work experience within the four years before applying for PR.

LANGUAGE ABILITY

You must have a score of at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 in an approved language test obtained within the two years before you apply.

EDUCATION

A Canadian post-secondary degree, diploma, or certificate of at least one year, or an equivalent foreign degree, diploma, or certificate. You also need to submit an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to prove that your qualification is equal to a Canadian one-year post-secondary degree.

3. CARING FOR PEOPLE WITH HIGH MEDICAL NEEDS

Following are the major requirements to become eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada under the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Program:

WORK EXPERIENCE

Canadian full-time work experience of at least 24 months(30 hours/week) in any of the following occupations:

• NOC 3012: Registered psychiatric nurses and Registered nurses
• NOC 3233: Licensed practical nurses
• NOC 3413: Nurse aides and patient service associated
• NOC 4412: Home support workers and its related occupations

The work experience must have been acquired within four years before submitting the application.

LANGUAGE ABILITY

• For occupations under NOC 3012, the minimum language ability score is the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in an approved language test.
• For NOC 3233, NOC 3413, or NOC 4412, the minimum score is CLB 5 in an approved language test.

You must have appeared for the test within two years before submitting the application.

EDUCATION

A Canadian post-secondary degree, diploma, or certificate with a minimum duration of one year, or an equivalent foreign degree, diploma, or certificate. You also need to produce an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to prove that your educational qualification is equal to a Canadian post-secondary degree, with the minimum duration of the study program being one year.

Canada introduced the Caring for Children Program and Caring for People with High Medical Needs program after it stopped issuing work permits under LCP. Under the LCP permit, caregivers were supposed to live with the employers. However, there is no live-in requirement for the two new caregiver programs.

Foreign workers with a job offer as a caregiver and a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment must apply for a regular work permit. With the work experience they acquire as a caregiver on a regular work permit, they can apply for permanent residence in Canada under either Caring for Children Program or Caring for People With High Medical Needs Program.