Overview: In-Home Caregiver – Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)
We are reviewing the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilot programs to determine how caregivers will apply for permanent residence after the pilots expire on November 29, 2019. We will announce the details well before the pilots expire.
These 5-year pilot programs are scheduled to expire on November 29, 2019. To be eligible to apply for them, you will need to have two years of full-time work experience as a caregiver and submit your application before that date.
The Government is committed to ensuring that caregivers continue to have a pathway to permanent residence.
Families can hire a foreign caregiver to provide care, in a private residence, to children, seniors or persons with certified medical needs, when Canadians and permanent residents are not available.
Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), families can hire foreign caregivers. However, the caregivers must:
- provide care on a full-time basis (minimum 30 hours per week)
- work in the private household where the care is being provided
- meet the requirements set Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
These families or private household employers will be able to hire foreign workers, on a live-in or live out basis, for 2 categories of in-home workers, which include:
1. Caregivers for children
- Children under 18 years of age
This category could include NOC positions such as:
- Child care provider, live-in caregiver, nanny (NOC 4411)
2. Caregivers for people with high medical needs
- elderly persons, 65 years of age or over
- people with disabilities, a chronic or terminal illness.
This category could include positions such as:
- Registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse (NOC 3012)
- Licensed practical nurse (NOC 3233)
- Attendant for persons with disabilities, home support worker, live-in caregiver, personal care attendant (NOC 4412)
Note: Foreign caregivers working in Canada may be eligible for permanent residency, provided they meet IRCC requirements.
Employers must meet the program requirements paying the prevailing wage for the occupation in the location where the work will be performed, and conducting the necessary recruitment and advertisement requirements for the stream.
How many hours of work experience do I need as a Live-in Caregiver to apply for permanent residence?
Live-in caregivers working in Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program need a certain amount of work experience to apply for permanent residence. They can qualify with one of two amounts of experience:
- 24 months of authorized full-time employment; or
- 3,900 hours of authorized full-time employment.
Live-in caregivers applying for permanent residence under the Live-in Caregiver Program, must choose one of these options. The application will be assessed according to the option the applicant chooses.
Language ability
For Children：
- CELPIP-G 2014 or IELTS has two options for the reading and writing tests. You must take the “General Training” test.
- compare your test results to the charts below to see what Canadian Language Benchmark(CLB) level you have, and
- if you meet the minimum level of CLB 5, include the original test results when you apply (photocopies are not acceptable).Note: The test results must be less than two years old .
Education
You must have a completed:
- Canadian post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate of at least one yearOR
- foreign degree, diploma or certificate and
- an original Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)
- from an organization we have approved
- that shows your education is equal to a completed Canadian degree, diploma, certificate of at least one year.
You must provide proof that you meet the minimum education requirement when you apply. If you don’t, we will not process your application and will send it back to you.
for people with high medical needs：
You must prove your ability in English or French for speaking, reading, listening and writing. We use the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) system to assess your skills.
- CELPIP-G 2014 or IELTS has two options for the reading and writing tests. You must take the “General Training” test.
- meet minimum language levels for your job (use your test results to find your CLB level):
- if you got your work experience in Canada as a registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse (NOC 3012), you must meet minimum CLB 7 in either English or French for all four language abilities.
- if you got your work experience in Canada in any other eligible job (NOC 3233, NOC 3413 or NOC 4412), you must meet minimum CLB 5 in either English or French for all four language abilities
- include the original language test results when you apply
- your results must be less than two years old on the day we get your application.
You will not have another chance to prove your language abilities. We will only use the test results that you provide when you apply to assess you.
