Live-in Caregiver

Live-in caregivers are individuals who are qualified to provide care for children, elderly persons or persons with disabilities in private homes without supervision. Live-in caregivers must live in the private home where they work in Canada.
Both the employer and the employee must follow several steps to meet the requirements of the Live-In Caregiver Program.

 Under the Live-in caregiver program, foreign live-in caregivers must:

• provide care on a full-time basis (minimum 30 hours per week) to:

• children, under 18 years of age
• elderly persons, 65 years of age or over, or
• persons with disabilities

• live and work without supervision in the private household where the care is being provided; and
• Meet the requirements set by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada for the LCP.

Caregivers must meet the eligibility requirements of the Live-in Caregiver Program. These include:

• successful completion of the equivalent of a Canadian secondary school
• at least six months of full-time classroom training or at least one year of work experience as a caregiver OR in a related field or occupation within the last three years, including at least six months of continuous employment with one employer
• the ability to speak, read and understand English or French so that they can function on their own in an unsupervised setting
• passing medical, security and criminal clearances
• a signed written employment contract with an employer in Canada

Your obligations as an employer:
• Pay the air ticket for the worker to come to Canada
• Cover the medical insurance for the first 3 months (Not all provinces require this)
• Provide an independent room and food for the Live-In Caregiver (you can charge an amount established by the government for this)
• Enroll the Live-In Caregiver in provincial workplace safety insurance
• Pay for the services, fees and costs of a recruitment or third party agency if you are using one to recruit the caregiver. Employers are not permitted to recover any recruitment fees from Live-In Caregivers
• Pay the stipulated salary, as set by Service Canada.