REQUIREMENTS OF THE CAREGIVER
The Live-in Caregiver Program allows professional caregivers to work in Canada. Caregivers are individuals who are qualified to work without supervision in a private household providing care for children, elderly persons or people who have disabilities. The live-in caregiver must live in the employer's home.
** Important **: The live-in caregiver program is NOT an immigration sponsorship. A standard employee/employer relationship exists between the foreign caregiver and the Canadian Employer. A Canadian employer who is dissatisfied with a caregiver's services may terminate the employment contract pursuant to the Ontario employment legislation.
There are six main requirements the caregiver must meet to qualify under the Live-in Caregiver Program:
- The caregiver must have successfully completed the equivalent of a Canadian high school education. In addition caregiver from the Philippines require at least two years of post-high school education, in which the student has obtained at least 72 units of credit. This requirement will help to ensure that if she applies for permanent residence after two years as a live-in caregiver, she will be able to succeed in the general labor market.
- She must have six months of full-time training in a classroom setting or twelve months of full-time
paid employment, including at least six months of continuous employment with one employer in a field
or occupation related to the job she is seeking as a live-in caregiver. She may have gained her
training or experience in areas such as early childhood education, geriatric care, pediatric nursing
or first aid. She may also have completed her training as part of your formal education. This experience
must have been obtained within the three years immediately prior to the day on which she submits an
application for a work permit. In order to qualify, the six-month training course must have been completed
as part of formal education taken at an institution accredited by the local education authority. In the
Philippines, TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) is the "local authority". In
addition to be being TESDA-accredited, the training must also comply with the requirements of Canadian
immigration legislation and policy. Full-time training must be completed within a period of six months
with a minimum of 25 hours per week in a classroom setting. Time spent performing on-the-job training
or a practicum is not considered part of the required training, even though this may be a TESDA requirement.
Correspondence courses, evening and weekend classes are also not considered as "full-time".
Please note: As a quality control measure, Canadian Embassy officials periodically monitor caregiver training institutions to ensure that the schools meet the requirements of the Canadian legislation and policy. If the caregiver school has been found to not meet the required standards, students from that school are deemed not to have met the Program's requirements and their applications will not be accepted.
She must be able to speak, read and understand either English or French at a level that allows her to
function independently in a home setting. For example, she must be able to contact emergency services
if required and to understand labels on medication. The caregiver will be unsupervised for most of the
day and may be required to communicate with someone outside the home.
- The caregiver must have a written employment contract between her and her future employer. The contract defines her job duties, hours of work, salary and benefits. This requirement helps provide a fair working arrangement between the caregiver and the employer and provides both parties with a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
- Pass an interview. At the interview with the Canadian Embassy, the caregiver will be asked questions related to her prospective employment. Possession of a certificate from a training facility, does not guarantee acceptance. She must be able to demonstrate that she is capable of providing unsupervised care to a child, an elderly person, or a physically or mentally challenged person and she must be able to conduct the interview in either English or French. Transcripts of records from college or university will be verified at this time.
- Pass the full medical examination.
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