The Live-In Caregiver Program: Extending your stay

You are responsible for making sure that your live-in caregiver work permit is extended before the expiry date. For more information, see:

Your employment situation may change. You might change your job, quit or lose your job. For information on how to extend your stay in these circumstances, see:

You may be eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada after you have gained enough work experience as a live-in caregiver. For more information, see:

If you want to travel or leave Canada permanently, see:

Extend your work permit

The work permit you receive when you enter Canada may allow you to work in Canada for up to four years plus three months. The date when your work permit expires is on the work permit. For more information, see:

You should apply to extend your work permit at least 30 days before the expiry date. Your temporary status as a worker will continue under the same conditions, until your application is processed and you have been notified of the decision. To find out how to apply to extend your work permit, see:

If your work permit has expired before you have submitted an application to extend it, you must apply for a new work permit to restore your status within 90 days of the expiry date. With your new work permit application, you may have to submit a copy of a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO), a document your new future employer must obtain before she or he can hire you. Contact the CIC Call Centre for more information before you apply.

It is illegal to work in Canada without a valid work permit. If you do not extend your work permit or apply for a new work permit, you will be without status and you will have to leave Canada.

Changing jobs

You can change jobs for personal or other reasons. You will not be deported for looking for another place to work.

Your HRSDC/SC centre may have information about available live-in caregiver positions. You may also wish to use the national Job Bank to help in your search for a new employer.

Before you leave your present job, you must request these documents from your employer:

  • a record of any overtime hours you worked, and
  • a record of employment (ROE). The ROE indicates:
    • your reason for leaving
    • hours worked
    • gross earnings
    • any money paid or payable at the time you left your job.

Only your employer can get and complete the ROE. Your employer is legally responsible to give you an ROE and cannot refuse to do so. If you have difficulty getting your ROE, contact your local HRSDC/SC centre and ask officials to contact your employer.

Keep your ROE in a safe place. It is your work record and can serve as proof that you have worked the necessary time to apply for permanent resident status.

Applying for a work permit for your new job

Before you begin working for someone else, you must apply for a new work permit, at least 30 days before the expiry date of your work permit.

You can only work for the employer whose name is on your work permit. Your work permit could be cancelled if you work for anyone other than the person named on your work permit. You cannot even work for someone else just to try things out.

Do not allow your work permit to expire without having applied for a new one. You may not remain in Canada after your work permit expires unless you have applied for a new work permit or have been approved to stay in Canada through another immigration process.

With your application for a new work permit, you must submit:

If you are changing jobs and your new future employer has not yet sent you the required documentation, you must:

Case Processing Centre
Unit 202
Vegreville, Alberta
T9C 1X5

Your temporary status as a worker will continue under the same conditions, until your application is processed and you have been notified of the decision.

Quitting your job

You will improve your chances of getting another job if you have worked in one job for a fairly long time.

Before quitting your job (unless there are problems of abuse), you should try to solve your work problems by talking about them with your employer. You and your employer can revise your contract once in a while to be sure it works for both of you.

Talk with your employer before taking any action to quit your job. If you decide to quit, give your employer enough time to find a replacement for you.

Check your contract to find out how much time you have agreed to give your employer. However, if you are in a situation where there is abuse, you should leave right away.

If you feel that you’ve been a victim of abuse in your workplace, you may be eligible for emergency processing of a new live-in caregiver work permit to help you transition to a new employer as quickly as possible. Contact the CIC Call Centre to confirm the eligibility and application requirements for emergency processing of live-in caregiver work permits.

Before you leave your present job, you must request these documents from your employer:

  • a record of any overtime hours you worked, and
  • a record of employment (ROE). The ROE indicates:
    • your reason for leaving
    • hours worked
    • gross earnings
    • any money paid or payable at the time you left your job.

Only your employer can get and complete the ROE. Your employer is legally responsible to give you an ROE and cannot refuse to do so. If you have difficulty getting your ROE, contact your local HRSDC/SC centre and ask officials to contact your employer.

Keep your ROE in a safe place. It is your work record and can serve as proof that you have worked the necessary time to apply for permanent resident status.

For more information on finding a new live-in caregiver position and obtaining a new work permit, see:

Losing your job

If you lose your job and need to apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, contact the HRSDC/SC centre nearest you. You will need your record of employment (ROE) to collect these benefits.

If you have not yet received your ROE, you can still apply for EI. Your employer is legally responsible to give you an ROE and cannot refuse to do so. If you have difficulty getting your ROE, contact your local HRSDC/SC centre and ask officials to contact your employer.

Keep your ROE in a safe place. It is your work record and can serve as proof that you have worked the necessary time to apply for permanent resident status.

You will be expected to find a new employer as soon as possible. For more information on finding a new employer and obtaining a new work permit, see:

Periods of unemployment will delay the date on which you can apply for permanent resident status. See below for more information.

Becoming a permanent resident of Canada

You can apply to become a permanent resident of Canada as a live-in caregiver if you meet the requirements. In this section, read about:

Requirements to become a permanent resident

You may be eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada after you have had the following work experience as a live-in caregiver:

  • 24 months of authorized full-time employment, or
  • 3,900 hours of authorized full-time employment. You can complete these hours within a minimum or 22 months. When calculating your hours, you can also include up to 390 hours of overtime.
  • The work experience must be acquired within four years of your date of arrival.

When calculating your work experience, you cannot include:

  • Any period of unemployment
  • Any extended time outside Canada. For example, if you leave Canada for longer than the period of vacation time allotted in your employment contract, that period does not count.
  • Any period you work for your employer outside Canada. For example, time spent on a family vacation will not count.

What can affect your application

Your application is affected if:

  • you, your spouse or common-law partner, or any of your family members have a criminal record or a serious medical problem.
  • you did not provide truthful information about education, training or experience to the visa officer when you first applied under the Live-In Caregiver Program, your application can be cancelled.

What cannot affect your application

Your application is not affected by your financial situation, skills upgrading in Canada, volunteer work, marital status or the number of family members you have in your home country.

Applying for your family at the same time

You must include all your family members in your application for permanent resident status, even if they do not want to come to Canada with you. Family members who are not listed in your application cannot be sponsored by you at a later date.

You and your family members can get permanent resident status at the same time.

Your family members abroad will go through the process of permanent resident status at their nearest visa office.

All your family members must first pass medical and criminal screening before you can receive permanent resident status. When you receive your permanent resident status, your family members will receive immigrant visas from the visa office in their home country.

Applying for an open work permit at the same time

You can apply for an open work permit at the same time that you apply for permanent resident status. An open work permit allows you to take any job you wish.

Permanent residence in Quebec

If you are a live-in caregiver working in Quebec, the province will also assess your application. The province will look for additional information, including your knowledge of French. For more information on permanent residence in Quebec, visit the website of the ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (Quebec Immigration).

Leaving Canada (permanently or for vacation)

If you go away on a long vacation, you may need to reapply for a temporary resident visa before returning to Canada. Before traveling, you should contact the Call Centre more information.

If you leave Canada for more than one year or if your work permit has expired, you will have to reapply to the overseas visa office to return to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program.

You can leave the program and return permanently to your home country at any time. However, you should give adequate notice to your employer.