The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) allows Canadian families to hire workers from abroad to provide care to a child, an elderly person or an adult with disabilities. After working two years or 3,900 hours they are eligible to file an application for permanent residence and an application for an open work permit. As of December 11, 2011, all live-in caregivers who made an application for permanent residence and filed an application for an open work permit with no missing information are being issued open work permits. This underscores the need to file complete and accurate applications in order to benefit from this program.

- Dennis McCrea

Having the opportunity to visit and work in Canada provides a wonderful chance to see the country and gain some valuable Canadian work experience at the same time. It may also lead to opportunities for strategies to obtain permanent residence in Canada subject to obtaining an appropriate job offer and federal or provincial approvals for a further work permit.

It is critical to get good information and assistance with respect to any work permit for permanent resident application. Contact McCrea & Associates with respect to any Canadian immigration or citizenship related matter and we would be happy to discuss options.

For more info, visit the Canadian Embassy in Mexico website.
Eligibility Criteria
This category is designed for Mexican citizens, who are registered students at a post-secondary education institution in Mexico, who intend to travel in Canada and who wish to obtain temporary paid employment in order to supplement their financial resources (maximum 12 months).
To be eligible for the Working Holiday category you must:
1. Be 18-29 years old inclusive at the time your application is received. Your application must be stamped as received by The Embassy of Canada in Mexico City on or after your 18th birthday, and before your 30th birthday;
2. Be a Mexican citizen holding a Mexican passport that remains valid throughout the period of stay in Canada. This means that at the time of application your passport should be valid for approximately another 26 months to account for the application processing time of 8 weeks, the one year validity of the Letter of Introduction, and the normal stay of 12 months. When the work permit is issued upon arrival in Canada, it will not be longer than the validity of the passport.
3. Have, prior to departure, a round trip ticket or sufficient financial resources to purchase such a ticket;
4. Have proof of the financial resources necessary (CAD $2,500) to provide for your needs at the beginning of your authorized period of stay;
5. Not be accompanied by dependant(s) under your IEC application;
6. Purchase, prior to entering Canada, insurance for medical and health care, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the entire authorized period of stay;
7. Be registered at a post-secondary education institution in Mexico;
8. Pay the Program Participation Fee in Mexican pesos; and
9. Not have participated in the Canada-Mexico Youth Mobility Arrangement in the last 3 years.

However, by special agreement with the government of British Columbia, the category has been temporarily extended in BC.  If you are an employer in the IT sector in BC and are seeking to hire foreign IT specialists in the following fields, or if you are a foreign national seeking work in the IT sector in BC, you may still be able to do so without a Labour Market Opinion.  The category covers the following occupations:

1. Senior Animation Effects Editor

2. Embedded Systems Software Designer

3. MIS Software Designer

4. Multimedia Software Developer

5. Software Developer—Services

6. Software Products Developer

7. Telecommunications Software Designer

Contact us for advice on how the simplified process applies to your situation.

Skilled Workers

CIC has changed the list of occupations qualifying for the Skilled Worker category without the necessity of a job offer.  The previous list had 38 occupations; the new list has only 29.  Applications that were filed before 26 June 2010 will continue to be processed.  As of 26 June 2010, applications can now be made in this category only by those with evidence of at least one year of full-time work experience in the last 10 years in one or more of the following occupations:

National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes:

• 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
• 0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
• 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
• 1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
• 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
• 2151 Architects
• 3111 Specialist Physicians
• 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
• 3113 Dentists
• 3131 Pharmacists
• 3142 Physiotherapists
• 3152 Registered Nurses
• 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
• 3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
• 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
• 4151 Psychologists
• 4152 Social Workers
• 6241 Chefs
• 6242 Cooks
• 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
• 7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
• 7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
• 7242 Industrial Electricians
• 7251 Plumbers
• 7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators
• 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
• 7371 Crane Operators
• 7372 Drillers & Blasters — Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
• 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

Investor Immigration

There is an immediate moratorium on all new applications under the Federal Investor program.  Current applications will continue to be processed, but longer processing times can be expected.

New investor application rules will come into effect on a date to be announced, but probably by October 2010.  It is expected that the new rules will double the minimum net worth requirement of the investor from $800,000 to $1.6 million and double the amount of the investment from $400,000 to $800,000.

Québec Investor applications can still be filed with the old limits; however, it is expected that Québec will very soon bring its investor program in line with the new federal limits.

Please note that as of 1 October 2010, the special work permit category for software workers will be eliminated in all of Canada except Quebec, where it will continue for a short time.  As of that date, all new work permit applications and extension applications will require a Labour Market Opinion from Service Canada.  This means that employers will need to show that there are no qualified Canadians or permanent residents available to do the work, and meet certain other requirements.

If you hold a work permit issued under this category of if you are an employer in the IT sector, contact us immediately to get advice on how to obtain work permits once this change takes effect.  The sooner you contact us, the more we may be able to assist you.