A record number of Filipino caregivers in Canada are expected to become permanent residents by 2014 after Ottawa reduced application backlogs and processing times for skilled workers, the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said. 

Starting next year, 17,500 caregivers working in Canada will become permanent residents through Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), the labor department said in a statement. 

The program facilitates the entry of qualified caregivers when employers have been unable to find Canadians to fill these positions, the statement said, adding that in 2012, 9,000 caregivers were given permanent residency status under the LCP. 

The figure is higher than the 8,200 who were given the same status for the past ten years. Of this number, approximately 4,350 were live-in caregivers or principal applicants while 3,850 more or less were their spouses and dependents.

Ottawa has “[slashed] application backlogs and processing times for skilled workers, parents, and grandparents,” the labor department statement said, citing a report by Toronto Labor Attaché Leonida Romulo.

“Minister Alexander (Citizenship and Immigration Canada Minister Chris Alexander ) has been quoted as saying that Canada recognizes the need to honour its commitment to live-in caregivers participating in the program who come to Canada with the promise of permanent residency after meeting work obligations in looking after children, the elderly, or disabled people under their care,” the statement said. 

For several years, the backlog had grown steadily that the number of caregivers completing their work obligations and becoming eligible for permanent residency has routinely outpaced the planned levels of admissions from the program.

Foreign caregivers are eligible for permanent residence in Canada after working for two years during their first four years after entry into Canada. 

“Although open to other nationalities, the Philippines is, and continues to be, the top source of live-in caregivers in Canada. The rapid uptrend in the deployment of Filipinos to Canada in the coming years can be expected,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

The Live-in Caregiver Program facilitates the entry of qualified caregivers into Canada when employers have not been able to find Canadians to fill these positions. Caregivers can apply for permanent residence in Canada after working for two years during their first four years after entry into Canada. As a result, a record number of live-in caregivers will be admitted as permanent residents of Canada in 2014.

The LCP is unique. Through the LCP, caregivers have a direct path to permanent residence that no other Temporary Foreign Workers enjoy. For more information about the program, please visit CIC’s website.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Minister Chris Alexander said the Canadian government has turned its attention to the LCP by slashing application backlogs and processing times for skilled workers, parents and grandparents.

“Canada recognizes the need to honor its commitment to live-in caregivers participating in the program who come to Canada with the promise of permanent residency after meeting work obligations in looking after children, the elderly, or disabled people under their care,” he said.

Almost 50 percent of the total number of temporary foreign workers under the LCP can be found in Ontario while Alberta and British Columbia comes second and third with 23 percent and 21 percent, respectively.