Open work permits for caregivers very slow in coming. System is not set up to deal with demand.
Toronto News: Nannies waiting longer for open-work permits in Canada - thestar.com
Nannies waiting longer for open-work permits in Canada
May 21, 2012
Nicholas Keung
Catalina Ferano longed for the day she would be free to go where she wants and do whatever job she chooses in Canada.
So after the Filipina nanny fulfilled her two-year obligation as a live-in caregiver last July, she immediately applied for an open-work permit while her application for permanent residency was being processed.
Now, nine months after submitting her application, Ferano’s open permit still hasn’t arrived.
“Without it, I have to continue to work as a live-in caregiver. It’s frustrating,” said Ferano, an architect from the Philippines.
Kay Manuel, of Toronto’s Caregivers Action Centre, said the advocacy group has received a growing number of calls from nannies complaining wait times for the open permit have been creeping up — after a drop at the start of 2012 when Ottawa issued 10,000 permits to desperate caregivers.
“Some of our members called the immigration phone line and they are told to get a new (live-in) employer because CIC doesn’t know how long the open-work permit will take,” said Manuel, who submitted her own application last August and is still waiting.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada said it is not known how many open permit applications are in the queue but there is currently an inventory of 2,367 permanent resident cases through the live-in caregiver program.
“The current inventory of open-work permit applications may be less than 2,367,” department spokesperson Bill Brown said in an email. “The current processing time is 71 days.”
As a result of policy changes, Brown added, live-in caregivers are now eligible for open permits immediately after they apply for permanent residence, instead of waiting until they receive “approval in principle” — a streamlining that can save applicants 18 months.
The live-in caregiver sector has been alarmed by recent comments that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney made recently to the Economic Club of Canada, that the current situation creates “a bit of a revolving door” with nannies being allowed to leave their jobs after two years. Critics worry the government is poised to do away with the option of allowing them to become permanent residents.
Manuela Gruber Hersch, of the Association of Caregiver & Nanny Agencies Canada, said there is a significant caregiver and nanny shortage across the country.
“It is difficult for caregivers to plan their lives without any consistency when to expect their open-work permits,” she said. “It is challenging for families to co-ordinate their childcare needs without any predictability when their caregiver may depart. This makes it extremely difficult and stressful.”
Ana Maria Sanchez applied for her open permit and permanent residency in May 2010. She got her permit in December, but her permanent residence still hasn’t come through.
She came to Canada in 2008 under the caregiver program after spending six years in Hong Kong as a nanny.
“I left my son when he was just 12 months old. He is now already 11,” said Sanchez, a midwife from the Philippines. “I just want to be with my son and my husband.”
Showing posts with label open work permits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open work permits. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
NO QUICK WORK PERMITS FOR LIVE IN CAREGIVERS
It is difficult to understand how the government can operate with such disarray. They should not be making promises for political gain if their systems are not capable to handle the application volume.
Foreign caregivers still waiting for open work permits
Foreign caregivers still waiting for open work permits
By Tobi Cohen, Postmedia NewsMay 14, 2012
Did Immigration Minister Jason Kenney promise live-in caregivers more than he could deliver?
Photograph by: Chris Wattie/Reuters
OTTAWA — The federal government seems to be having a tough time delivering on a promise to live-in caregivers who were told in December that they no longer would have to wait for an open work permit once their contract is up.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced with fanfare that the government had introduced processing changes that would ensure foreign nannies who had completed the requisite two years of work would be able to get their open work permits almost immediately once they'd applied for permanent residency, rather than being forced to wait some 18 months.
Five months later, however, stakeholders say many caregivers are still waiting and officials aren't able to offer any concrete timelines.
"They're trying to make it quicker but there's no estimation of time as to when (caregivers) will receive (the open work permit)," one Citizenship and Immigration call centre agent told Postmedia News.
Another agent blamed "too much volume" for delays and noted it wouldn't be unusual for somebody to wait four months — but 10 months, and certainly 18 months, would be out of the ordinary, adding they were instructed not to provide specific timelines.
Manuela Gruber Hersch, president of the Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies Canada which seeks to set ethical standards for the industry, said she's spoken with a number of concerned caregivers in recent weeks.
Shortly after Kenney's announcement, caregivers were receiving their open work permits within two or three weeks, she said, but many are now waiting much longer. Moreover, the issuing of permits seems to be inconsistent as some get it in two months, while others can wait eight.
Call centre agents she's spoken with have suggested there are not enough staff members to keep up with demand and that the government was wrong to make a promise it couldn't keep.
"It's just a pattern, right, with Kenney. Promising the moon and he can't deliver at the end," Gruber Hersch said, noting some caregivers quit their jobs anticipating their open work permit would be in hand before long.
"Ultimately, this inconsistency of open work permits puts great stress on families and caregivers because they can't plan their lives accordingly. Families need to have consistent and secure childcare in place and the caregivers need to arrange for their lives after being a caregiver."
Government officials insist the average processing time as of April 25 was about 71 days and that open work permits are still being issued 18 months sooner than they used to.
While officials say it's hard to state exactly how many open work permit applications remain in the queue awaiting processing, they say there were 2,367 permanent residence applications as of April 25.
Caregivers enter Canada as temporary foreign workers and become eligible to apply for permanent residence once they've completed two years, or 3,900 hours of work, within a four-year period.
At that point they become eligible to apply for permanent residency and an open work permit.
The open work permit is the reason many decide to leave their families behind and commit to living with and caring for a Canadian family. Once they have it, they're free to live wherever they like, seek work in any field and, after becoming permanent residents, sponsor their relatives.
The processing change announced in December ultimately meant caregivers no longer would have to wait for initial approval of their application for permanent residence before being eligible for an open work permit.
Kenney indicated at the time that the change would "help caregivers settle into their new life in Canada while they wait for their permanent resident applications to be processed."
Foreign caregivers still waiting for open work permits
Foreign caregivers still waiting for open work permits
By Tobi Cohen, Postmedia NewsMay 14, 2012
Did Immigration Minister Jason Kenney promise live-in caregivers more than he could deliver?
Photograph by: Chris Wattie/Reuters
OTTAWA — The federal government seems to be having a tough time delivering on a promise to live-in caregivers who were told in December that they no longer would have to wait for an open work permit once their contract is up.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced with fanfare that the government had introduced processing changes that would ensure foreign nannies who had completed the requisite two years of work would be able to get their open work permits almost immediately once they'd applied for permanent residency, rather than being forced to wait some 18 months.
Five months later, however, stakeholders say many caregivers are still waiting and officials aren't able to offer any concrete timelines.
"They're trying to make it quicker but there's no estimation of time as to when (caregivers) will receive (the open work permit)," one Citizenship and Immigration call centre agent told Postmedia News.
Another agent blamed "too much volume" for delays and noted it wouldn't be unusual for somebody to wait four months — but 10 months, and certainly 18 months, would be out of the ordinary, adding they were instructed not to provide specific timelines.
Manuela Gruber Hersch, president of the Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies Canada which seeks to set ethical standards for the industry, said she's spoken with a number of concerned caregivers in recent weeks.
Shortly after Kenney's announcement, caregivers were receiving their open work permits within two or three weeks, she said, but many are now waiting much longer. Moreover, the issuing of permits seems to be inconsistent as some get it in two months, while others can wait eight.
Call centre agents she's spoken with have suggested there are not enough staff members to keep up with demand and that the government was wrong to make a promise it couldn't keep.
"It's just a pattern, right, with Kenney. Promising the moon and he can't deliver at the end," Gruber Hersch said, noting some caregivers quit their jobs anticipating their open work permit would be in hand before long.
"Ultimately, this inconsistency of open work permits puts great stress on families and caregivers because they can't plan their lives accordingly. Families need to have consistent and secure childcare in place and the caregivers need to arrange for their lives after being a caregiver."
Government officials insist the average processing time as of April 25 was about 71 days and that open work permits are still being issued 18 months sooner than they used to.
While officials say it's hard to state exactly how many open work permit applications remain in the queue awaiting processing, they say there were 2,367 permanent residence applications as of April 25.
Caregivers enter Canada as temporary foreign workers and become eligible to apply for permanent residence once they've completed two years, or 3,900 hours of work, within a four-year period.
At that point they become eligible to apply for permanent residency and an open work permit.
The open work permit is the reason many decide to leave their families behind and commit to living with and caring for a Canadian family. Once they have it, they're free to live wherever they like, seek work in any field and, after becoming permanent residents, sponsor their relatives.
The processing change announced in December ultimately meant caregivers no longer would have to wait for initial approval of their application for permanent residence before being eligible for an open work permit.
Kenney indicated at the time that the change would "help caregivers settle into their new life in Canada while they wait for their permanent resident applications to be processed."
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