How to bring our Sri-Lankan maid / nanny to Canada?

[Um_Michael]

Hi there,
We are a family of Canadians who lived in Abu Dhabi for a while and we have a Sri-Lankan nanny for our two children. We will be going back to Canada soon and we would like to bring her with us as she practically raised our two boys and the kids are very attached to her. Is there a way to apply for a permanent visa for her for Canada taking into consideration that she is on our sponsorship in Abu Dhabi? Would this help in any way? Or, alternatively, should we send her back to Sri Lanka and apply for her visa to Canada from there? Which way would be easier and what are her best options? I am not sure if she has completed high school or not, but there is a chance she didn't... Would this reduce her chances? Please help! Thank you, Um.

 

[Leon]

You can apply to hire her as a live-in caregiver under the live-in caregiver program. I don't think you can start that process until you are in Canada already. You would have to advertise to show that no Canadians applied for the job and you have to be offering minimum wage. Then you apply for a labour market opinion and with that, she can apply for a work permit.

You will be acting as her employer, there will be a contract, she will be getting pay slips from you and you have to withhold her taxes and other deductions like any regular employer. She gets her vacation, days off etc. She can apply for PR after 2 years as a live-in caregiver. Being qualified to work as a live-in caregiver is not going to be a problem for her as it sounds like she has years of experience already working for you.

 

[Um_Michael]

Hi Leon,

Thank you very, very much for your response and for the advice!
We will be back in Canada middle of January and I will start my job back there right away. My husband will still be in the UAE for a while so we can keep her on our sponsorship here in the UAE but how will she get to Canada in this case?
I have looked at the Caregiver Program but it requires •Successful completion of the equivalent of a Canadian secondary school education, which I believe she does not have. It is one of the conditions and we might be turned down right away because of this...
She worked for us from March 2003 until present. She practically raised my children while I was at work!
Do you think it's worth going through an immigration lawyer?
Thank you again!

 

[Leon]

Talk to an immigration lawyer to see if it would be possible to get an exemption from the secondary school education. If not, can you send her to night school to upgrade? How far is she from having completed secondary school?

 

[jodereggs]

Hi um_Micheal
I am in the same boat...we are living in the middle east and moving back to Canada by the summer (2011) we are hoping to bring our Eritrean Maid/Nanny with us. I have found this website that might be of help to you - canada-nanny.com/sponsor.htm they will help you with paperwork, for a fee of course.
I would love to hear how you make out. Best of luck.

 

[maharlika]

thank you very much for this link...i wud like to try this too, someday.

Hi um_Micheal
I am in the same boat...we are living in the middle east and moving back to Canada by the summer (2011) we are hoping to bring our Eritrean Maid/Nanny with us. I have found this website that might be of help to you - canada-nanny.com/sponsor.htm they will help you with paperwork, for a fee of course.
I would love to hear how you make out. Best of luck.

 

[Um_Michael]

Hi um_Micheal
I am in the same boat...we are living in the middle east and moving back to Canada by the summer (2011) we are hoping to bring our Eritrean Maid/Nanny with us. I have found this website that might be of help to you - canada-nanny.com/sponsor.htm they will help you with paperwork, for a fee of course.
I would love to hear how you make out. Best of luck.

Hi Jodereggs,
Thank you very much for your valuable information. I will give this agency a call once I'm back in Canada in a couple of weeks and I will definitely let you know how it goes. I would like to ask you if your maid is on your sponsorship in the Middle East? Have you tried to obtain a visit visa for her for Canada? Thanks, good luck to you too with the move. Are you from Ontario?

 

[tseecharran]

You can certainly bring your caregiver to canada as long as she meets with the requirements listed below.

1) Education - Minimum of grade 12 (or canadian equivalent)
2) English - needs to speak enough to pass an interview with a visa officer
3) Work Experience - If she is currently working with you, this should not be an issue

If you require assistance with the processing of your caregiver's documentation, please give Pam a call at 416 949 6460

Good Luck

 

[Um_Michael]

Jodereggs, I tried to PM you a few times to keep you up-to-date with my progress but your inbox is full! Delete some of your older messages so I can send you my message ... Take care, Andreea.

 

[maharlika]

hello everybody,

any update to the link given by Um_Michael? i can't find it anymore.

 

[Pippin]

Only SLIGHTLY off topic, but there has been a fairly recent pilot project by the Canadian Government to bring back some of our brightest citizens who have been living away from Canada for a number of years and have new families who are not Canadians. It doesn't mention faithful household members, but I wonder if this is an aspect that the actual families could raise with the government as another incentive for them to move back to Canada???
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=586639

 

[jailika]

Hi Guys,

Please help me with your experience. We too want to sponsor our maid to Toronto. We are PR holders and the maid has been with our kid from last 3 years. We would like to sponsor her.

Please Please guide.

Thanks,
JAI

 

[Leon]

Hi Guys,

Please help me with your experience. We too want to sponsor our maid to Toronto. We are PR holders and the maid has been with our kid from last 3 years. We would like to sponsor her.

Please Please guide.

Thanks,
JAI

You have to be living in Canada and you have to apply for her work permit as a live-in caregiver. If she stays with you in Canada for 2 years, she can apply for PR.

 

[Sukhera]

Did anyone on this group who lived in Middle East, manage to get visa for their nanny / maid?

 

[canuck78]

Did anyone on this group who lived in Middle East, manage to get visa for their nanny / maid?

The requirements have become more stringent and these postings are quite old so I Ould do your own research.