Full News Detail

Visa interviews for live-in caregivers waived!?

22 December, 2006
by Don Collantes

Are you or one of your relatives applying as a live-in caregiver from the Philippines? If yes, this article will be of high interest to you.

EXPEDITED WORK PERMIT APPLICATIONS

Work permit applications filed at the Canadian Embassy in Manila under the live-in caregiver program are processed on a “first come, first served” basis and require a visa interview. The current waiting period of a visa interview for this type of application is 20 to 25 months.

Employers, however, who are in dire need of a live-in caregiver cannot wait more than 20 months for the arrival of their live-in caregiver. To combat this long waiting period, waive visa interviews for live-in caregiver applicants and thereby expedite their applications, the Canadian Embassy – Manila has introduced the Spoken Proficiency in English Assessment and Knowledge (S.P.E.A.K.) test.


S.P.E.A.K. TEST

The S.P.E.A.K. test consists of five to seven general questions related to caregiving, where the live-in caregiver applicant must provide at least answers that are at least one-minute in length. The answers of the live-in caregiver applicant are video recorded and then reviewed by a visa officer to determine a live-in caregiver applicant’s English language ability and knowledge of a caregiver.

If the visa officer is satisfied with the live-in caregiver applicant’s answers from the S.P.E.A.K. test, the visa officer will then proceed to waive the live-in caregiver applicant’s visa interview and approve the work permit application.

If the visa officer is not satisfied the answers from the S.P.E.A.K. test, the live-in caregiver applicant would be required to wait extensively for a personal visa interview schedule.


NEED MORE INFORMATION?

For direct assistance in scheduling and preparing for a S.P.E.A.K. test to expedite a live-in caregiver work permit application, or for information regarding any immigration matter, please call the writer, Mr. Don Collantes, in Toronto, Ontario at (416) 733-3605 or toll free at 1-877-882-6888.

Mr. Don Collantes is a Certified Canadian Immigration Consultant (CSIC) by the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC), a professional regulatory board of immigration consultants recognized by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), a department of Government Canada.

Send To Friend | 3828 views

BACK          TOP