Canada is caring for our caregivers:’ New programs give foreign caregivers job mobility, chance to bring family

It will soon be easier for foreign caregivers to leave behind an abusive workplace and change employers as their work permits will no longer be tied to the family that brings them to Canada.

Under two new pilot programs — Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker — to be announced Saturday and launched Tuesday, their loved ones can also accompany them to Canada and be offered open work permits and study permits to keep the immediate family together, a privilege only high-skilled migrant workers currently enjoy.

“Canada is caring for our caregivers,” said Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen in a statement to the Star. “We made a commitment to improve the lives of caregivers and their families who come from around the world for our loved ones and with these new pilots, we are doing exactly that.”

The new programs come after extensive consultations conducted last year by the immigration department in response to demands by caregivers and their advocates who have long complained that restricting their work permit to one specific employer makes them vulnerable to exploitation like indentured labourers.

The new pilots will each have an annual quota of 2,750 principal applicants, for a total of 5,500 per year, plus their immediate family, said immigration officials.

And by changing the caregivers’ employer-specific work permits to ones restricted to the caregiving occupation, employers will no longer need to apply for what’s known as a labour market impact assessment to prove their need to hire a foreign caregiver, saving them the $1,000 they now have to pay in government processing fees per position.

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New immigration pilot program offers caregivers pathway to permanent residence
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Foreign caregivers face lengthy wait for permanent status

However, caregivers must still have an official job offer in Canada and meet the standard criteria for economic immigration programs, such as English proficiency, education, background, health and criminal clearances. Those caregivers who meet the required two years of Canadian work experience can then apply for permanent residence along with their family members.

Canada’s caregiver program is believed to be the only one in the world that provides access to permanent status for foreign workers after two years of full-time employment as a caregiver. The access to permanent residency is an incentive to make up for the job’s relatively low pay and sometimes unpleasant working conditions.
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In 2014, the previous Conservative government overhauled the program by capping the number of caregivers who can access permanent residency at 5,500 a year and imposing new requirements for language and post-secondary education. Those changes also relieved foreign caregivers from having to live with their employers under the old live-in caregiver program.
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Officials say applicants will be provided a “clear, direct pathway” to permanent residence under the new programs. Caregivers’ work permits are expected to be processed in 12 months while their permanent residence applications should take no more than six months after proof of their Canadian work experience is submitted.

With the termination of the current Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs programs, caregivers who came to Canada since 2014, but were unable to qualify for permanent residence before the launch of the new pilots on Tuesday, will have the window for their immigration pathway extended, starting on July 8.