Ottawa has officially changed its decades-old live-in caregivers program to a two-stream program that will restrict the number of foreign nannies or caregivers it will accept. Xstoryplayer V9. Under the, which comes into effect Sunday, caregivers will no longer have universal access to permanent residence status after working in Canada for two years. They must now apply under two categories — those caring for children, and those caring for people with high medical needs.

How the federal government may be able to help you if you are a family caregiver. Here are the resources you need in getting the most aid. The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) is closed to new applicants. You can only hire a caregiver through the LCP if you have: found a caregiver who already has a work.

Ottawa will allow 2,750 caregivers under both new streams to access permanent residency, for a total of 5,500 applicants a year. A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s says about 4,500 applicants have applied for permanent residence under the old program from 2011 to 2013. The caregivers advocacy group says what’s needed is permanent residency upon arrival for all caregivers.

It’s the only thing that would protect workers from abuse and allow them to speak up about abuses without risk of deportation. According to the group’s website, the annual average of caregivers who have come to Canada over the past five years is over 8,000 — well above the cap Ottawa has set. To caregivers must now have one year-post secondary study in Canada or a foreign diploma or certificate that has been given equivalency here. Caregivers must also pass stringent language requirements — a Level 5 language test in either English or French, or if the caregiver is a registered nurse or a psychiatric nurse he or she must pass a Level 7 language test. Under the new program Ottawa has removed the requirement that caregivers must live in — a move that has pleased some. But Velasco is also very concerned about another change — Ottawa will no longer entertain humanitarian and compassionate appeals for caregiver’s dependants. “Previously we were able to fight for humanitarian and compassionate consideration,” she explained.

But not anymore. “If dependents are declared inadmissible, the caregiver will also be declared inadmissible.” “That is new and it’s too harsh. All these changes are so harsh and will push caregivers into more precarious employment.” Another area of concern in the new regulations is that those who don’t get permanent residency will be sent home after four years; caregivers will still have to find an employer who has an approved Labour Market Impact Assessment, and they will be tied to one employer and must complete two years of service under the program. Counter File Strike Global Offensive Beta. In an October news conference the Minister of Immigration said that the department will issue permanent resident status to 30,000 eligible caregivers (including their spouses and dependents) in 2015 to reduce the backlog.

The minister also said that Canada hopes to bring in between 260,000 to 285,000 new immigrants in 2015. With files by Nicholas Keung.

Related • • • “Caregivers who have demonstrated commitment to Canada and to Canadian families deserve to be part of that dream to become a Canadian.” The federal program allows families to hire someone from another country to live with them and provide care for children, seniors and people with medical needs or disabilities. After two years in the program, the caregiver can then apply to become a permanent resident.

READ MORE: In 2014, the program was changed so new applicants were no longer required to live in their employers’ homes. On Saturday, Sohi said the government’s goal is to reduce the number of caregivers still waiting for permanent residency by 80 per cent by the end of 2018. The government also said it plans to finalize 80 per cent of new complete applications within one year that were submitted at or after Oct. “Government has heard your comments and concerns, and while many live-in caregiver applicants have faced long delay in family separation, you can rest assured that you will receive a decision on your application soon,” Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault said. READ MORE: The program has been criticised over the years for exploiting caregivers. Some workers who have been part of the program have said they felt disposable and less than human.