Live-in caregivers

Before hiring you, your employer must:

• apply to Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada (ESDC/SC) to have his or her suggested job offer reviewed; and
• receive a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from ESDC/SC.

ESDC/SC will assess your employer’s job offer and the employment contract to be sure that it meets the requirements for wages and working conditions and the provincial labour and employment standards, and that there are not enough Canadians or permanent residents available to work as live-in caregivers in Canada. If ESDC/SC finds the job offer acceptable, they will issue a positive LMO to your employer.

You will need to submit a copy of this positive LMO when you apply for a work permit.

You and your future employer are legally required to sign a written employment contract. You must submit the signed contract with your work permit application. This must be the same employment contract submitted to ESDC/SC by your employer, unless you provide an explanation of any changes (for example, a new start date).

The written employment contract will ensure there is a fair working arrangement between you and your employer.

The employment contract must demonstrate that the Live-in Caregiver Program requirements are met by including a description of:

• mandatory employer-paid benefits, including:
  • transportation to Canada from your country of permanent residence or the country of habitual residence to the location of work in Canada
  • medical insurance coverage provided from the date of your arrival until you are eligible for provincial health insurance
  • workplace safety insurance coverage for the duration of the employment
  • all recruitment fees, including any amount payable to a third-party recruiter or agents hired by the employer that would otherwise have been charged to you
• job duties
• hours of work
• wages
• accommodation arrangements (including room and board)
• holiday and sick leave entitlements
• termination and resignation terms

A contract template is available on the Service Canada website. Your contract does not have to look exactly like this, but it must contain all the information and clauses indicated as mandatory.

The use of an alternative contract format may delay the processing of the LMO application as ESDC and Service Canada officers will need to determine if the contract complies with LCP requirements.

Note: the contract template is different for the province of Quebec and is available on the ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (Quebec Immigration) website.

You must have successfully completed the equivalent of Canadian high school education (secondary school). Because of the differences in school systems across Canada, it is not possible to give a precise number of years. In most provinces, it takes 12 years of schooling to obtain a Canadian high school diploma. The immigration officer assessing your application will let you know what is needed.

To claim work experience, you need to have worked for one year, including at least six months of continuous employment for the same employer. This work experience must be in a field or occupation specific to what you will do as a live-in caregiver. This experience must have been acquired within the three years immediately before the day on which you make an application for a work permit as a caregiver.

To claim training, it must have been full-time training in a classroom setting. Areas of study could be early childhood education, geriatric care, pediatric nursing or first aid.

You must be able to speak, read and understand either English or French so that you can function on your own in your employer’s home. For example, you must be able to call emergency services if they are needed, and to understand labels on medication. You will be unsupervised for most of the day and may have to communicate with someone outside the home. You can also read and understand your rights and obligations if you can function in English or French.

To participate in the Live-in Caregiver Program, you must make an application for an initial live-in caregiver work permit at a visa office outside Canada.

If your application is successful, you will receive a letter of introduction from the Canadian visa office responsible for your area. You will need to present this letter to the Border Services Officer upon arrival in Canada in order to obtain your work permit.