This section contains details on policy, procedures and guidance that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) staff typically use. The authorities have posted this on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
The Case Processing Centre in Vegreville (CPC-V) or the responsible Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) inland office have the onus of determining whether the principal applicant is a member of the live-in caregiver class. For this, they will review the applications vis-à-vis the provisions specified in section 113 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Once the office has made this determination, all family members in Canada or abroad, whom the application identifies, will need to undergo the prescribed medical, criminal and security checks for determining admissibility. This is regardless of whether these family members are accompanying or not.
Live-in caregivers would need to meet the requirements of the class at the time of their application for permanent residence. The authorities have specified these requirements in section 113 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).
The Guidelines for Permanent Residence
The authorities permit a foreign national to become a member of the live-in caregiver class if the foreign national:
- Has submitted an application to remain in Canada as a permanent resident
- Is a temporary resident
- Holds a work permit as a live-in caregiver
- Has entered Canada as a live-in caregiver and for at least two of the four years immediately following the foreign national’s entry or, alternatively, for at least 3,900 hours during a period of not less that 22 months in those four years, the foreign national:
- Resided in a private household in Canada and,
- Provided child care, senior home support care or the care of a disabled person in that household without supervision
- Is not (and has no family members that are) the subject of an enforceable removal order or an admissibility hearing under the provisions of the Act or an appeal or application for judicial review arising from such a hearing and,
- Did not enter Canada as a live-in caregiver as a result of a misrepresentation that pertained to the foreign national’s education, training or experience
In some case, such foreign nationals might have the intent to reside in the Province of Quebec. In this scenario, the competent authority of that particular province would need to hold the opinion that the foreign national meets the prescribed selection criteria of the Province.
The Guidelines for Calculation
The authorities require foreign nationals to become permanent residents as members of the live-in caregiver class. For this, the foreign nationals need to meet the prescribed criteria. One of these is that the foreign national would need to have entered Canada as a live-in caregiver and for at least two of the four years immediately following the foreign national’s entry or, alternatively, for at least 3,900 hours during a period of not less that 22 months in those four years, the foreign national:
- Resided in a private household in Canada and,
- Provided child care, senior home support care or the care of a disabled person in that household without supervision
The authorities have provided certain specifications for calculating these time periods. Therefore, foreign nationals would need to be mindful that:
- The 3,900 hours must not include more than 390 hours of overtime and,
- The periods of two years and 3,900 hours may be in respect of more than one employer or household, but cannot be in respect of more than one employer or household at a time
It is worth mentioning that the authorities cannot grant Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) applicants permanent residence in certain conditions. This is especially so if the officers find these applicants inadmissible under the provisions specified in sections 33 to 42 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
Situations could arise where the officers are processing applications for the principal applicant and their family members concurrently at different offices. In this scenario, the officers would not be able to make a final decision until they have determined that all the applicants are not inadmissible.
Officers would typically need to refer cases to the responsible Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) inland office in case:
- They come across concerns pertaining to the identity of the principal applicant
- They feel that the case is complex or exceptional
- They feel that the case warrants an interview
- They suspect misrepresentation or,
- They find that the case presents serious criminality or security concerns as specified in the provisions of section A34, A35, subsection A36 (1), section A37 or section A40
Officers might require additional information about determining inadmissibility. For this, they would need to refer to chapter ENF 2 / OP 18 i.e. Evaluating Inadmissibility
- The Medical Examinations
- Ineligible and Inadmissible Family Members
- Inadmissibility and Non-Accompanying Family Members
- Non-Compliant Family Members – The Requests for Information or Medical Examinations