Citizenship and Immigration Canada defines live-in caregivers as “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”.
The requirements to be met by any foreign national intending to work in Canada as a live-in caregiver are set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227. One such requirement is the successful completion of training in a classroom setting or paid employment as a caregiver or related occupation. This requirement was recently discussed in the case of Mayorga v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2010 FC 1180.
Andrea, who was the applicant for a work permit as a live-in caregiver in that case, is a citizen of Ecuador. She had a great uncle who was a Canadian citizen. The great uncle was suffering from various ailments, including leukemia, and required permanent care by a companion. Andrea was offered work as her great uncle’s live-in caregiver.
As stated above, Andrea applied for a temporary work permit. Initial indications were favourable to her application. She received a positive Labour Market Opinion. After being interviewed by a Canadian Embassy officer, Andrea claimed to have been told to expect some documents and information relating to the medical examinations that she would be required to take prior to coming to Canada.
However, she received a letter from the visa officer stating that her application had been denied on the ground that she did not meet the requirements of section 112 of the Regulations. In particular, the letter stated that “you have not demonstrated that you have the required paid work experience, nor the required six months of classroom training, in a field or occupation related to the employment for which the work permit is sought, i.e./ [sic] care of an ill, elderly person.”
Andrea’s work experience included teaching English to young school children. She claimed to have taken care of special disabled children, including children suffering from Down’s syndrome and mental retardation, as part of her work. Andrea brought a judicial review application to have the visa officer’s decision set aside on the principal ground that she had met the requirements under the Regulations.
Under Section 112 of the Regulations, a foreign national seeking to enter Canada as a live-in caregiver must have successfully completed (1) six months of full-time training in a classroom setting or (2) one year of full-time paid employment within three years before the submission of the work permit application, in a field or occupation related to live-in caregiver work in either case.
The Federal Court agreed with the visa officer that Andrea did not meet the requirements under the Regulations. In the first place, Andrea was found to have submitted false evidence of her work experience. Upon inquiry with the school that Andrea worked for, it was revealed that the school did not have students with special needs.
The Federal judge did not consider the false evidence to be minor. It went to the heart of Andrea’s claim that she had the training or work experience in the field or occupation for which she was seeking a temporary work permit. As a result, there was no basis for Andrea to assert that the skills she developed working with special needs children were transferable to, that is, could be considered as, experience in caring for a terminally-ill elderly person.
Andrea was left with the argument that her paid work experience in teaching normal school children was transferable to experience in caring for the terminally-ill elderly. But the Federal judge did not share this view. The judge found that the experience gained by Andrea from teaching students without special needs was very different from caring for a terminally-ill elderly person.
The Federal judge stated that “it was reasonably open for the (visa) Officer to conclude, on the evidence before her, that (Andrea) had not demonstrated that she had either the work experience or the classroom training” under section 112 of the Regulations. While Andrea’s paid experience teaching to young school children was not seriously in question, there was no proof of her paid employment caring for the terminally-ill and the elderly. Andrea’s application for judicial review was thus dismissed.
Essential to being a live-in caregiver is an aptitude for providing genuine companionship and care. One must, however, also be able to provide convincing proof of the necessary classroom training or paid work experience related to this occupation to be considered as a candidate under the government’s Live-in Caregiver Program.