Julia came to Canada in 2010 to work under the country’s former live-in caregiver program. Established between 1992 and 2014, this immigration pathway allowed caregivers to apply for permanent residency after working for a single employer for two years.
Fifteen years later, Julia is now out of status in Canada.
OMNI News agreed to keep her real name private due to her immigration status.
Despite the simple conditions stated in her contract as a live-in caregiver, there were too many unfortunate realities and complex challenges faced by caregivers like her, whose only dream was to get permanent status in Canada.
Like many immigrants, Julia says being in the country was a dream. However, having been out of status in Canada for almost a decade, her Canadian dream of becoming a permanent resident feels unattainable.
Realities of the Live-In Caregiver Program
It remains a big question for Julia why Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) refused and returned her permanent residency application in 2012.
“It was only stated that there were options I could submit as proof of my 24-month work experience, which should be categorized either monthly or hourly,” Julia says. “I submitted my tax assessment as proof for those 24 months’ work.”
After receiving the refusal letter, she claims there was no apparent reason why it was denied. IRCC asked her to submit additional supporting documents to prove the required length of work experience, but provided no details on what particular documents Julia needed to submit.
She has since been looking for ways to regain status in Canada and was elated to learn that there were limited reserved spots for undocumented caregivers to apply under the recently implemented Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots, which opened on March 31, 2025. But it was quickly shut down after reaching its quota.
Julia failed to secure her spot in the pilot program, which only allotted about 150 applicants for the out-of-status category.
“I hope they just give us a chance to have a fair fight,” she says. “If you look at every angle, we don’t have a chance to win.”
‘Pro-employer’ immigration program leading to abuse
“You’re saying that you need us, you’re saying that we’re essential, you’re saying that you care for us because we care for you, but do you really care for us?” says former caregiver, Jhoey Dulaca.
Dulaca works as an organizer for Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a group that campaigns for the rights of migrants in Ontario. She says in her daily work, she encounters stories of migrants facing challenges, including caregivers who’ve lost their status, confusion on their permanent residency applications, and those who face employer abuse – one thing that Dulaca herself experienced.
Dulaca arrived in Canada in 2016 under the Live-In Caregiver Program Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) Stream. However, she almost lost her status when she didn’t finish her contract after leaving an allegedly abusive employer.
“I was working from 7 o’clock until maybe 12, sometimes 15 hours, and they only pay me seven hours,” she says. “They would belittle me and insult me. And so, when I couldn’t handle it anymore, I left.”
However, this isn’t the case for many caregivers.
Registered Canadian immigration consultant Jecris Tubigon says, leaving an abusive work environment is hard for many because most people under the caregiver program dream of becoming permanent residents in Canada to reunite with families left in their home country.
“They don’t want to rock the boat,” Tubigon says. “However miserable the conditions are already.”
Unfortunately, he says, caregivers who fall out of status in Canada have become a common situation. He says Canadian immigration programs, past and present, have favoured employers more than workers.
False promises in family reunification due to application backlogs
It was 2013 when Maila Casido arrived in Canada as a caregiver. After working for her employer for two years, she became eligible to apply for permanent residency. When she submitted her application, she saw it as a ticket to bring her husband and six children to Canada, the place she considered her second home.
But this dream stalled for years, as Casido was told her application was stuck in the backlog that Immigration Canada was dealing with.
“When they said I was included in the backlog, it’s like when you hear that word, it’s like the end of the world,” she says. “Until when are we going to wait?”
She says she contacted several members of parliament, hoping to have her application considered, but to no avail.
It took seven years for her application to be approved, and she was finally reunited with her family.
“When I picked them up at the airport, I was so surprised. It’s like they were no longer my children,” she says. “They’re adults. They’re grown up.”
Plea to make temporary programs permanent
In stories shared with OMNI News, caregivers and advocates expressed frustration after the recent launch of another caregiver pilot program. They described the program as ‘problematic’, as it provided false hopes to applicants.
The Home Care Worker Immigration pilots had lower education and language requirements, which were believed to be a win for caregivers. However, what surprised many was the program’s hard quota and the difficulty navigating the government’s website, which resulted in several applications and applicants being left behind.
“There was a flood of applicants, and many were disappointed and frustrated,” Tubigon says. “Was the problem [of caregivers losing status] addressed? No, they [the federal government] made it worse. They just added more applicants.”
Canada has seen several interim pathways and pilot programs implemented, but thousands of caregivers are still caught in the crosshairs of the country’s rapidly changing immigration policies.
Tubigon says he believes immigration programs have been widely affected by the current political climate in Canada.
For Casido, who missed seeing her children grow up, she’s hoping for a simple change.
“Let’s first look at those who applied a long time ago who are still waiting for their papers to be approved, and then start another program,” she says. “To see to it that no one is left behind.”
As Canadians prepare to elect a new government, caregivers and advocates hope the incoming government will prioritize addressing broken promises in the past and revisiting existing programs to identify areas that need improvement.
For Julia, who has been living in Canada for nine years as an undocumented individual, she remains hopeful that one day her “Status for All” campaign will be loud enough for Ottawa to hear.
She looks forward to the day that she becomes a permanent resident of the country she’s dreamed of calling home.
