Immigration Matters

Sukhram Ramkissoon

 June  deadline for applications for  ‘Interim Pathway’ for caregivers

 Major changes have been made to Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program .Back in November 2014, two new streams were created – the  Caring for Children Pathway and the High Medical Needs Pathway- and in March this year, a new Interim Pathway was announced.

Prior to these changes, a Live-In caregiver was required to complete 24 months or 3900 hours of work  to qualify for a work permit under the Caring for Children Pathway

In the Caring for Children or High Medical Needs Pathway, the  applicant was also required to meet language and educational skills to qualify for the work permit and permanent residence.

This week I would like to focus on the new Interim Pathway which gives caregivers an opportunity to apply for permanent residence, if they otherwise do not qualify in any of the streams available.  Deadline for application for this new” pathway” is June 4, 2019I

If, for instance, a caregiver came to Canada on November 23, 2014 and has only worked a total of 22 months up to this present date and has held valid work permits throughout his/her time in Canada, that caregiver may want to review the following requirements:

– A valid work permit

– One  year of work experience as a home childcare provider or home support worker, or a combination of experience in both occupations

– A minimum Canadian Language Benchmark 5 level in reading, writing, listening and speaking in English or French

– A foreign equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma

If  the caregiver cannot get an Educational Credential Assessment before the deadline, he/she must provide proof that an application was made for an assessment, such as a receipt, confirmation or email. (An Educational Credential Assessment is only required with respect to education credentials acquired outside of Canada.)

If  the caregiver cannot get the language test results in time to meet the deadline, he/she must also show proof that a test has been taken or has been booked with the date and name of institution.

Applications under the IPC stream will be processed in twelve months and there is no cap on the number of caregivers, with their spouses/common-law partners and dependent children, who will be accepted.

I commend the Canadian government for implementing this new stream for caregivers, as I have too often heard of sad stories of applicants  not being able to meet the requirements of the program..  In one case, a caregiver came to Canada and after three  months of work, her elderly employer passed away.  She received another job offer and had to wait almost eight months to receive her new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LIMA) during which he employer passed away. She then had to look for yet another employer.

The following are some  “quick facts”  about the Caregiver program, as published by the Canadian government:

• In October 2017, there was a backlog of about 9,000 cases, representing 24,000 caregivers and their family members, in the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). We have reduced that backlog to only 495 cases, representing 2,655 people left to be processed, a reduction of close to 95 percent.
• The processing time for new applications from those who were grandfathered into the LCP is 12 months instead of the peak of 60 months previously. Applications under the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots continue to be processed in 6 months or less.
• In June 2019, the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot will launch, replacing the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots. The new pilots will each have a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, for a combined total of 5,500 principal applicants per year. Spouses/common-law partners and dependent children will not count against the limit.
• Under the new pilots, in-home caregivers will get occupation-specific work permits, which will provide greater flexibility in changing jobs when necessary. Caregivers will also have more opportunity to bring their family with them to Canada, as their spouses/common-law partners will be eligible for an open work permit and their dependent children will be eligible for a study permit.

Readers who are interested applying for a position through the Live-In Caretaker program should seek legal advice. This column should not be considered as such.

SUKHRAM RAMKISSSOON is a member of ICCRC and specialises in Immigration Matters at No. 3089 Bathurst Street, Suite 219 A, Toronto, Ontario Phone 416 789 5756.