Immigration: Caregiver Work Permit and Permanent Residence Applications

The Caregiver category was formerly the Live-in Caregiver category. Recently, the Caregiver category has changed significantly. A caregiver is a someone who provides home-based care for children or who provides home-based care to adults who are elderly or who suffer from debilitating medical conditions. Under the old rules, a caregiver had to live in the home of the employer, but under the new rules that is no longer the case.

The Caregiver program involves 3 distinct application types:

1. Applications for Caregiver Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs);

2. Applications for Caregiver work permits; and

3. Applications for permanent residence.

The unfortunate truth about the Caregiver program's current state of affairs is that it is difficult for employers to qualify for Caregiver LMIAs and it is difficult for caregivers to obtain permanent residence even if they meet the various requirements of the program.