Live in Caregiver Work Permit and Changes

What is the live in caregiver work permit?

Are you looking to temporarily immigrate to Canada to take care of children or take of someone who has high medical needs as a live in caregiver? If the answer to this is yes, then look no further than the live in caregiver work permit. The live in caregiver work permit allows you to take care of the person you are applying to care give for. There are two classes under the live in caregiver work permit that you can apply for and they are:

1. Caring for children
2. Caring for people with high medical needs

Live in Caregiver Requirements

There are certain requirements that must be met by you and the employer to receive the live-in caregiver work permit. These requirements are:

• The position being offered is for full time
• You must work without supervision for the person you are taking care of
• You have completed at least six months of training as a caregiver or at least one year of full-time paid experience as caregiver or related in the past three years
• You have completed high school (secondary education) or its equivalent in your country of origin
• The person being took care of is either a children or a person with high medical needs
• Your employer (the one hiring you) has filed a positive Labour market impact Assessment before hiring you, the temporary foreign worker (TFW)
• A labour market impact assessment that is approved by the HRSDC (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada)
• The employment contract
• Have a work permit
• Knowledge of one of Canada’s two official languages, either English or French (It is recommended to take standardized test to convince the officer that is assessing your application to believe you are proficient in one of Canada’s two languages)
• Admissible to immigrate to Canada (not criminally, medically inadmissible and if you are inadmissible, you must taking any necessary steps to remove that criminal inadmissibility)

Live in Caregiver Documentations

There is certain documentation that you must include in your application to present to the officer assessing your application and they are:

• Proof of identity (i.e. passport)
• A work permit
• Document to show that you have completed at least six months training as a caregiver
• A copy of your degree, diploma, certificate, etc.
• A copy of the positive labour market impact assessment (can be obtained from your employer)
• The employment contract signed by both you and your employer (discussed further below)
• To live with your employer in the residence
• Proof of fluency in English and French through language tests

Labour Market Impact Assessment for Live in Caregivers

The employer will need to obtain a positive labour market impact assessment (LMIA) from the ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada). The employer will need to demonstrate that previous attempts were made to hire local candidates, there is a need for the foreign worker, and that hiring the foreign worker will not negatively impact the Canadian labour market. In the labour market impact assessment, the following must be included:

• Your pay, the compulsory benefits and any additional benefits
• Live in arrangements (if applicable)
• Workplace safety insurance
• Medical insurance coverage till you are eligible for provincial medical care
• How will you arrive from your country to Canada (transportation)
• The LMIA is given if it is proven that there was no available Canadian to perform the job, it will not negatively impact Canada’s labour market, and that there is a need for a foreign worker like you to come to Canada

Live in Caregiver Employment Contract

In the employment contract, things like job duties, pay, compulsory and optional benefits, how you will arrive in Canada, whether or not you will live in, if you are living in then it must be included that you will not be paying for room and/or board, and your employer’s responsibilities towards you must also be included.

In the agreement all these or additional terms should be covered because the officer can deny your application if this is not the case. A legal representative can assist in preparing the employment contract.

It is at the officer’s discretion to permit or deny you entry to Canada. Thus you should present a strong application knowing all the laws and rules governing the Live-in Caregiver Work Permit. In addition if they found you inadmissible to Canada (i.e. criminally, medically, non-compliance, etc.) then they have the authority to deny you.

Changes to the Live in Caregiver Program

On November 30^th, 2014 there were many controversial changes made to the live in caregiver program. Some of the changes made it harder to obtain the live in caregiver work permit as well as permanent residency in Canada. The changes made to the live in caregiver program are:

• You would apply for a regular work permit if your employer submitted the labour market impact assessment after the date of November 30^th, 2014 and you haven’t started working in Canada yet
• You would apply for a live in caregiver work permit if your employer submitted the labour market impact assessment to the HRSDC on/before the date of November 30^th, 2014 and you haven’t receive a work permit yet, you would apply for a live in caregiver work permit
• If you have a live in caregiver work permit from before and desire to either extend your work permit or work with another employer for a live-in caregiver position, you apply for another live in caregiver work permit.
• The labour market impact assessment will last just for one year
• There are two new ways of applying under the live in caregiver work permit. These two ways are the:

1. Caring for children route
2. Caring for those with high medical needs route

• Previously, as a caregiver, you can apply for permanent residence after 3 900 hours of work after 2 years of arrival. Now as a caregiver, you must have one year of post-secondary study in Canada or its foreign equivalent, pass language tests to show you are fluent in English or French
• Cap added for permanent resident applications (meaning that there is a set limit of permanent resident applications for the live in caregiver work permit per year) and a cap added for the amount of applications to be processed
• Living in with your employer is now optional. If you and your employer agree for you to live in, then they cannot charge for room and/or board under the rules in effect
• In addition H & C considerations wont’ be heard for live in caregiver dependents

Before the live in caregiver changes, it was more specific you could live in caregive for children, seniors, and those with disabilities. You could also apply for permanent residency after 2 years as a live in caregiver and education requirement was to have complete high school (secondary education) or the equivalent.

When can I apply for Permanent Residency as a Live in Caregiver?

For the caring for children class, within four years and having spent two years as a caregiver you can apply for permanent residency within Canada. This is the same for caring for people with high medical needs but the two years must be either as higher skilled occupations which are: nurses (NOC code 3152), nurse aid (NOC 3413), and lower skilled occupations which are: home support worker (NOC code 6471), or licensed practical nurse (NOC code 3233). You must also meet language test requirements. The Canadian level benchmark can be 5 or 7 depending on the occupation. For higher skilled occupations, it is mostly 7. You also must have completed one year of post-secondary education in Canada or its equivalent in your foreign country.

Hire a legal representative?

If you are the employer or employee, it is highly advisable to consult with a legal expert. They can help you prepare the LMIA which is a rather extensive process, help with the employment contract and present a strong application. It can further increase your chances of acceptance.

How can we help at Akrami and Associates?

There have been many changes to the live in caregiver program and understanding them can be difficult but at the same time it is really important to understand it. Our experienced team of individuals, Akrami and Associates understand the live in caregiver program. As a result, we have helped many workers and employers in obtaining the live in caregiver work permit under the new changes and we can help you too. Feel free to give us a call today at (416) 477-2545 or toll free at 1-877-820-7121 today if you have any questions, would like to seek further clarification, or would like to book a consultation with one of our legal representatives to go over your matter in more detail and in depth. We will be there with you every step of the way.

We also have Do it Yourself Immigration Kits available on the live in caregiver work permit. These kits are great for you if you are looking for financially cheaper guidance, looking to file the application on your own, etc. We also offer a final review on your application by one of our legal representatives as well as a consultation in the elite bundle with these kits that come at an extra affordable cost. Contact our firm for more details.

With Akrami and Associates, there is always a way!