This page is designed for young people from all over the world willing to be Caregivers in Canada.
If you are a Canadian willing to participate in the program abroad, click here. If you are a family willing to hire a Live-in Caregiver, click here.

What is a Caregiver

Caregivers are individuals who are qualified to care independently for children, the elderly or people who have disabilities.

There is a shortage of Canadians who are available to work as live-in Caregivers. In order to keep up with such a demand a live-in Caregiver Program was developed to bring qualified foreign people who are available to work on a live-in basis.

If you want to gain Canadian work experience, upgrade your skills to the Canadian standards, and have the time of your life in Canada you are more than welcome to join the program. If you have a background in education, medicine and health care, then you are the Caregiver we need. There is also the possibility of applying for Permanent Residence in Canada after completing at least two (2) years of work here.

Through the program you will become a member of a Canadian family for at least one year and will be paid a salary as a Caregiver.
The host family, which is your employer, will pay you no less than the minimum wage set by the province in which you are working.

Minimum wage in the Canadian Provinces:

From the salary above, your employer (host family) will deduct specific amounts in order to pay various contributions. Part of the contributions are paid by you, part of them by your employer and there are contributions paid both by you and the employer. The principal deductions are:

- Room and board (the amount will be specified in your contract)
- Income tax
- Employment insurance
- Canada pension plan

As an example for Ontario the maximum your employer can deduct weekly for your room is $31.70 for a private looked room or $15.85 for a shared room.

For example if you have a salary of $1,540.00 and $369.42 is your room and board contribution, your net salary after paying the taxes will be $950.00(*).
(*)The above example is meant to be taken just as guidance.

In most of the provinces, overtime is paid 1½ and you will have 8 public holidays (New Years' Day, Labor Day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day).

Both you and your employer need to understand clearly the terms and conditions of your employment. The relationship between employer and live-in employee is much like any professional relationship. It is worthwhile to set out clearly what each person expects of the other to avoid any misunderstandings about the terms of the working relationship.

The objective of setting out the relationship in a contract is to get the fairest working arrangement possible for both you and your employer. A contract can help to avoid future problems by protecting your rights and providing a clear statement of your obligations. A contract is a written, detailed job description that also describes the terms and conditions of employment, usually including the maximum number of hours of work per week and the wage rate for those hours of work. Nothing in the contract should violate provincial labour laws, which establish minimum employment standards such as the minimum wage.

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Eligibility requirements

Our program eligibility requirements for a foreign Caregiver are imposed by the Canadian Government and our agency as well.

Governmental requirements:

• You must have completed a high school education that is equivalent to a grade 12 education in Canada

• You must be able to speak, read and understand English or French. You must be able to function independently in a home setting. For example, you must be able to contact emergency services if required and to understand labels on medication. You will be unsupervised for most of the day and may be put in a position of having to communicate with someone outside the home. A good knowledge of English or French will also enable you to read and understand for yourself what your rights and obligations are.

• Within the last 3 years, you must have completed 6 months of full-time training in a field related to the job you want in Canada; or, you must have completed 12 months of full-time paid employment (this must include at least 6 months of continuous employment) in a field related to the work you want to do in Canada. This training or employment could be in a field such as childcare, early childhood education, geriatric care, special education, pediatric nursing, first aid, any health profession, to name just a few areas.

• You must have a clean criminal record

Our agency requirements:

• You must provide us with three not family related references

• You must pass an interview to determine if you meet the program requirements

• You must be willing to follow the rules of your host family's home, treat them, their children and possessions with care and respect

• You must be willing to commit to stay for a full year (*)

• You must pay a good faith deposit to ensure your commitment to the program

• You must be a non-smoker or be prepared to sign a non-smoking declaration

• You must be willing to provide minimum 24 hours of childcare, related responsibilities and light housework per week

(*) Please contact us if you can stay for less than a year. Some families request Au Pairs for the summer. The Live-in Caregiver program is different from the Au Pair program so don't hesitate to e-mail us.

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Application process

If you are a nurse, nanny or care worker, qualified to independently take care of children, elderly, challenged or disabled people and you satisfy the eligibility criteria, then you can follow the steps of the application process.

1. The first step is to contact us by e-mail or fax. As a result, we will provide you information on our partner agencies and on the specific requirements for your country. If we don't have a partner agency in your country we will work directly with you.

2. After the first step, you will receive an information package on what you need to qualify for our Live-in Caregiver Program, to accept an offer of employment from a Canadian family, to come to Canada as a Caregiver, and to extend your stay so you may continue working in Canada. The package also includes an application form, two childcare reference forms and a character reference form. In order to receive the package from one of our partners you have to pay a "good faith" deposit. If you prefer to download our application forms and references at no cost, click here and the links above. To read the majority of these forms, you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.

3. If you decide that the program is for you, you will have to schedule an appointment for an interview with one of our local representatives. At the interview you will have to bring the application form that needs to be neatly filled out and signed by you, a "Dear Host Family" letter both neatly hand written in English, two pages long and typed, three not family related references, a photo collage with children you cared for and that includes you, documentation of school completion, criminal check report or authorization for criminal check. Please click here for a check list. You can include the checklist with your application.

4. Once you are accepted on the program you will correspond with the families that we find for you until a perfect mach is found. After that we will guide you through the entire process until your arrival in Canada.

5. Once you are here you will have to attend our compulsory training within the first month from your arrival. After 6 months of contract you will have to fill out an evaluation form as well as at the end of the program. During the entire period we will keep a good communication and contact with you, and try to help you with any problem that might occur.

You will be asked about your diplomas, school certificates or transcripts that are listing the courses you have taken. Be honest about your education, training and experience because you could be disqualified from the program if you are not. Your marital status and the number of children you have will not affect the outcome of your application; you must be honest in providing this information.

Because of the existence of an agreement between the federal government and the province of Quebec, there are differences in the way the Program operates for Caregivers who will be working in Quebec. 

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Services we offer to Caregivers

As a specialized Au Pair agency, we offer services both to the families and Caregivers, as a perfect fit is our goal.

Once you have applied, your application is screened, your references checked and your file completed and presented to different Canadian families. After we find you a family, we assess your compatibility and if it looks like a perfect fit, the family and you will have a correspondence period to get familiarized with each other.

If you and the family decide that you are willing to work together, we can negotiate the contract for you and do the paperwork for the employment authorization.

Once you are here it is compulsory for you to attend our training courses within the first month from your arrival.

If you decide to find another contract after a year, we can find you a host family and negotiate another contract for you.

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Program costs

If you want to participate on the program, you will basically have three categories of costs: agency costs, governmental costs and miscellaneous costs.

1. Agency:

We have a system of good faith deposits and customized placement fees according to your experience, country you are from and period of time you want to stay. After receiving your application we'll let you know the amounts in your case. Sometimes you might be required to pay a part of your "good faith deposit" before starting the placement procedure. There is no fee to apply or to assess your application. 

2. Governmental:

- Processing application fee (currently this fee is CAD$150.00; however the fee might vary from time to time) paid to the Canadian government
- Medical exam fee (approximately CAD$125.00)
- Canadian visitor visa fee (if applicable; CAD$75.00 for a single entry visa, or CAD$150.00 for a multiple entry visa). Whether or not you are required to have a visitor visa depends on the country you are from

3. Miscellaneous:

- Medical insurance for the first 6 months (even if it is optional, we highly recommend it). The price is around CA$328 / 3 months
- Transportation costs - please check with your local travel agents for the best airfare to Canada
- Baggage insurance (even if it is optional, we highly recommend it)

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This site is designed to give you an idea about the program and familiarize you with the requirements. It does not intent to be a complete guide. Once you are interested in the program you will receive our complete application kit by mail

For special requirements please contact us at: caregiver@aupair.ca