Caregiver
The caregiver program has significantly changed in the last decade, from the Live-in Caregiver program to two pilot programs, including the changes to the legislation in 2014 and ending with the most significant amendments implemented in June 2019. Under the current legislation, there are two programs for caregivers:
- Home Child Care Provider (NOC 4411 under NOC 2016, or NOC 44100 under NOC 2021). and
- Home Support Worker ( NOC 4412 under NOC 2016, or NOC 44101 under NOC 2021).
The changes to the program are significant for all caregiver applicants and we will mention a few:
- The caregiver applies for permanent residence at the beginning and their family will be included in their application as dependents;
- The employer will not need to submit a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application to Service Canada (ESDC), consequently making the job offer more “user-friendly” to the employers in urgent need of caregivers;
- When the work permit as a caregiver is approved, the whole family (qualifying dependents) can accompany them to Canada with immigration status of their own such as workers or students.
Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) established a cap of 2750 visas per year for each of the two categories for a total of 5500 Canadian immigration caregiver visas annually The requirements to apply are similar to the requirements for permanent residence and work permits:
- The application made is for both a work permit and permanent residence, submitted at the same time to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC);
- The applicant must meet the requirements for a work permit in Canada, meaning specifically that they have experience as caregivers in one of the two streams
- The work permit issued by IRCC to the applicant is an “occupation-restricted” open work permit, meaning the caregiver can work for any employer, but only as a caregiver, no other occupation;
- The applicant must receive a genuine offer of employment from the employer (no LMIA required);
- the employment will have to be full-time (at least 30 hours /week),
- paid work, with regular vacation time and at minimum thehourly rate established by IRCC for the occupation;
- the employment offer must be from a Canadian employer outside of Quebec;
Language level requirement: the applicant must have the minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 in each skill: writing, reading, listening and speaking;
Education requirement: the applicant must have completed a post-secondary program / credential of at least one year.
IRCC will review the permanent residence and work permit applications and, if the applicant and family meet the eligibility criteria, they will issue an open work permit for one of the two streams , as stated above.
Employers who want to hire caregivers from abroad, must plan ahead since processing time is taking 12 months;
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