The Live-In-Caregiver Programme revisited by Marissa Buyco-Corpus

All this hullaballoo about the Live In Caregiver  Programme – the complaints from nannies about abusive employers, the Dhalla nanny gate, moves from groups for reforms to the Program has opened the lid to so many questions, and even before the intended reforms have been decided in Ottawa , as a Practitioner, I have observed many changes happening  in this Programme.

The Labour Market Opinion
In recent months, Service Canada has instituted tighter controls on applications for live in caregivers from employers desirous of hiring one. Among the requirements last January 2009 was requiring advertisements for 15 days at a newspaper and 15 days at the Job Bank. Last May 4, 2009 employers were required to secure a CRA business number ( where in the past employers would apply for one when the nanny/caregiver arrived, reason being that CRA would monthly send reminder notices to remit employee taxes, when in fact the nanny/caregiver’s work permit was still under process at the visa post. ) Employers are also required to sign and prove their identity  to a lawyer, notary public or commissioner on oaths attesting to their identity and finally again proof of recruitment efforts – in other words more paperwork for employers. This adds further to the long process of hiring a foreign live in caregiver , and this process applies to employers hiring a caregiver already in Canada ( a transfer of employer)

Furthermore, an application for a live in caregiver for an elderly person will now require a doctors certificate on the medical/physical condition of the elderly. This now disallows requests from elderly with no medical condition for a companion/caregiver ! Some elderly  people live alone and ne3ed a comp0anion because they are forgetful and are frail but not sick , and need help in their daily activities.

Wait times for an officer to confirm the application has stretched to  more than 60 days ( tho9se applied in March are being acted upon in May). This excludes wait times at the visa posts for applications for work permits, including wait times at in Canada applications at Vegreville.

Visa Post Requirements
The  past year has also seen an increase in wait times for live in caregiver work permit applications at different visa posts. In our experience, the following are the average wait times:

•     Manila – 24 months
•     Singapore – 18 months
•     UAE – 18 months
•     Israel – 12 months
•     Hong Kong – 3-4 months
•     KSA – 2-3 months

With wait times, we have also experienced more requirements by visa posts from employers such as but not limited to :

Manila – Supplementary Info Sheet ( SIS) , Notice of Assessment ( NOA), medical certificate for elderly and  those with medical condition, proof of home ownership, proof of number of rooms to show that there is a  spare bedroom for the caregiver  

•     Singapore – SIS, NOA
•     KSA – Justification from Employer, NOA
•     Israel – NOA, Statutory Declaration from Employer, proof of home ownership
•     Hong Kong – NOA

To top it all, we now have visa officers calling the employer  ( sometimes at midnight ) to confirm the offer and ask for more documents. This has happened for Manila and Singapore visa posts.

Are’nt you exhausted by all these requirements !  Well we have not even tackled the requirements that are to be submitted by the applicant caregiver – Police clearances, medical examinations, birth certificate, marriage certificate, employment letter ( or caregiver training certificate with TESDA license), etc.

Looking at all these paper trails going on from both ends – the employer and caregiver, it mystifies me no end how this programme is still surviving or is it the
Canadian government’s attempt to decrease the entry of live in caregivers ?

Its been noticeable that visa approvals have declined, specially for the Manila and Singapore visa posts.

Sadly, the repercussions are enormous – both for employers and nannies/caregivers. Employers are getting very frustrated about the system – one Italian employer told me that the Foreign Worker Officer was very rude and he felt that he was being treated like a “terrorist”. This employer has always hired a live in caregiver for as long as i can remember since the time that his wife had an accident and has a disability. This employer has decided to stop hiring a live in caregiver for now.

Another employer who is past 80 years old and lives alone was required to submit a doctors certificate and since she had no medical ailment except that she was old and frail, her application was not approved.

In Manila and Singapore visa posts since January 2009, all employers hiring a nanny with children over 12 years old and above were told that visas will not be issued to the caregiver because the kids no longer require care. However, as far as Service Canada is concerned anyone below 19 is considered a minor child and LMO s are approved. Why does this rule apply as far as Service Canada is concerned and not in selected visa posts such as Singapore and Manila ?

Why are the definition of terms not app0lied in the same manner with these two Federal agencies – the Service Canada and CIC ?

All these restrictive requirements are bringing out one message – discouraging employers to bring in a foreign live in caregiver.

But the statistics are clear – Canada has an aging population and care for the elderly will be serious issues in the years to come. Further, with Canada allowing more educated and skilled immigrants to enter the country with their families ( specially young children), parents will need live in caregivers to enable them both to work and contribute to the economy.

In countries/ societies where the family is closely knit, grandparents were expected ( or hoped) to care for their grandkids. But this option is not an easy alternate as sponsoring parents and grandparents takes approximately 4 years and is not quite a priority for immigration programs.

The high cost of day care specially for families with more than one child has made parents consider the live in caregiver alternative the best option because they do not have to run to the day care and pick up their child if they need to work overtime and not only will the nanny care for the kids but also   keep the home tidy and clean.

The nannygate on the news, move for more reforms and improve the programme has put people in high places on the spot. However, it can not be denied that this program has served Canada well.

Sure there are abusive employers and Dhalla’s nanny gate has made such type of employers aware that they can not abuse the system. Service Canada should include a system to get feedback on the employer and this will affect future applications for live in caregivers for the employer. If a system is in place this will surely minimize abuses.

However at the other side of the spectrum, we have nannies who have abused the system. We have nannies who discriminate employers ( no Muslims, no Chinese, no Jewish, no Middle Eastern, no blacks , no Jamaicans etc) We have nannies who work live in and are on their mobile phone most of the time chatting with friends during working hours. We have nannies who use employers personal things or send them home in their balikbayan boxes. We have nannies who let their friends or boy friends to come into the employers home when the employer is at work. We have nannies who lock up the family pet at the bathroom all day while the employer is not home. And so many more shocking stories.

The solution is not to tighten the lid on employers. The solution is to strictly license agencies dealing with employers and nannies and all types of workers.  A similar process for licensing that immigration consultants had to go through -  agencies must get a police clearance, must post a bond etc. So many agencies have mushroomed because it is so easy to open one by simply applying for a business permit or attaining a business name. This has led to many abuses in the system as any Tom Dick and Harry can open an agency.

Granted there are many flaws in the system, it is not perfect but it has helped many Canadian homes with elderly and with kids or with those with a medical condition. Don`t penalize the employers ( specially legitimate ones). Improve the system. Dont penalize the caregivers. Standardize and streamline work permit requirements for all visa posts.

To many kababayans who have become Canadian citizens and brought their families to Canada successfully because of this programme, speak up ! To my kababayans who are part of the groups who are seeking for reforms in the system, let us not scrap the program. This programme has been the gateway for many of our kababayans because entering through the Federal Skilled Worker Programme has been so limiting to 38 professions and with too stringent requisites in English language fluency and resettlements funds.

The Live In Caregiver is a good programme. There is no question - It does need to be improved.
 
Marissa Corpus has BSBA and MBA degrees from the University of the Philippines and post graduate studies in Financial Management from the Netherlands International Institute of Management. She is Managing Director of Philippine Multimedia Productions publisher of the Filipino Telephone Guide, MBC Immigration Specialists, Servicio Filipino Internationale and a licensed immigration consultant being a FULL member of Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants and CAPIC. Her company was 2006 Philippine awardee as the Best Immigration Consultancy Specialist by the NPQEA. To contact writer, email her at mbcorpus@yahoo.com , check her website at www.mbcimmigration.ca or telephone at 416-266-3838 or 416-264-7676.