Dateline: 12/12/09
Improving the Canadian Live-in Caregiver Program
The Canadian federal government has proposed changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program. The Live-in Caregiver Program lets qualified individuals come to Canada as temporary workers to provide care for children, the elderly or disabled in private homes when there is a shortage of Canadians or permanent residents to fill available positions. If a live-in caregiver meets requirements, he or she can then apply for permanent residence in Canada. The regulations being proposed will make it easier for live-in caregivers to apply for permanent residence. The proposed changes to the Canadian Live-in Caregiver Program will also make some changes to the rights of live-in caregivers to give them more protection from abuse or exploitation.
The proposed changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program are being published in the Canada Gazette on December 19, 2009 for a 30-day comment period open to all Canadians. Final regulatory changes will be published after the comment period.
Changes to Make it Easier to Apply for Permanent Residence
Changes being proposed to make it easier for qualified live-in caregivers to apply for permanent residence in Canada include:
- eliminating the second medical exam before becoming a permanent resident
- allowing live-in caregivers who work overtime to apply for permanent residence sooner
- increasing the time that live-in caregivers are allowed to complete the work requirement for permanent residence from three to four years.
Changes to Protect Live-in Caregivers in Canada
Employers of live-in caregivers would be required to pay for:
- travel costs for live-in caregivers to come to Canada
- medical insurance until live-in caregivers become eligible for provincial health coverage, and
- workplace safety insurance and any recruiting fees owed to third parties .
Employment contracts would have to spell out these employer-paid benefits, and would also need to include clauses clearly outlining job duties, hours of work, overtime and holidays, sick leave, and termination and terms of resignation.
Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be improving the information packages live-in caregivers receive before they come to Canada. They will also be establishing a hotline for live-in caergivers.
Applying to be a Live-in Caregiver in Canada
If you are interested in coming to Canada as a live-in caregiver, you can find detailed information on the Live-in Caregiver Program on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada site.
