helper wants to go to Canada

I was just suggesting to my helper dates to go on holiday and she told me she has applied to go to Canada. Is this common and are visas easy to get?

I appreciate that this is an oppertunity for her but i feel that it is a little unfair to do behind my back mid contract.

I would be grateful of any thoughts, I like my helper and would prefer not to change her but am afraid of being left in the lurch as i go to Europe for two months in the summer and start work straight away in September.

make sure your helper won't end up with bank loans due to her application. A friend of mine had the same case. Her helper applied for work in Canada and left with a lot of loans from banks here in hk. There is nothing wrong for the oppurtunity that she is seeking but there are times that "some" dh can be selfish and only think about themselves and leave employers in the hanging situation.

Contact Evelyn in our office - we assist helpers going to Canada - she will let her know if she qualifies - no charges... 2815 2520

Lots of DH are trying to go to Canada. Why not? higher pay, better benefits, less hours, less work, and after 2 years, with documentation, they become Canadian Passport holders under the Caregiver programme.


However, it's NOT that easy to get to Canada as a DH. She would have to prove her education, work experience, and also whether she already has an employer willing to hire her there.


I know many helpers apply for Canada, the whole process took over 1 year.


I brought my last helper with me to Canada, the day before we came back to HK, she told me she is not coming back to HK with me, she extended her tourist visa for another 6 months, and will stay behind.


I was SO mad. But glad it happened, b/c now I have two wonderful helpers. If she never left us, I would never have these two!

We wouldn't tell out current boss we where applying for new jobs until we put in our notice why is it different for a DH. We are after all responsible for our own lives and family not our helpers and we need to take the hit should things not work out the way we had hoped. We all want to improve ourselves and would happily take a better job with better conditions a Helper is entitled to do the same for herself.

Perhaps if you express your concerns and work out with her that she will keep you informed of how her application is going and give you plenty of notice before leaving so you can find someone else things will be ok for you. It's good that's she's told you already so work with that to get the best result for you both.

Good luck

Katetam,

Unusual that she went on a tourist visa as she wasn't a tourist, she was working.


Our helper comes with us on a special working visa, and must accompany us into and out of Canada. This doesn't stop her from staying in Canada of course, but would prevent extension of a tourist visa because it isn't a tourist visa.


tmk

My helper has told me that,should we leave HK, she would like to apply to Canada to work and that she needs three months from application to process her visa.


One of my previous helpers is also in Canada and we found out a little about the process when we got a letter from the (Canadian)agency processing her papers asking us if the reference letter "we" had provided was, in fact, from us. That would be the letter recommending the helper for being "very smart"!


I spoke to the helper about it and it seemed that she didn't want to tell us until she knew when she was going. The agency letter said that helpers had to provide a release letter from their employers at the time of application as, once a position is found, the helper has one month to front up (so they need to know that the helper is free to work).


so, it does place the helper in a difficult position. As with most employees(in any field), they don't want their employers to know about their plans until they are definite. The agency said that it was common for helpers to forge the initial release letter.


Anyway, we agreed to let her go when the job came through (with a warning about the illegality and possible consequences of fraud), she went to Canada within two months and we are still in contact after 5 years.


She was a good helper and a good (if somewhat impetuous)person. After working as a DH in HK for 8 years to put her younger siblings through school, she was finally in the position to do something for herself and she jumped at it. Even if writing her own reference letter and forging my husband's signature wasn't the smartest thing she ever did it was understandable in the context (where "everyone" was doing it) that she should think it reasonable behaviour.

Thanks for all the advice. She has only asked me for a reference letter. She says she needs it to take to the agency. She has told me her application is with the Canadian embassy. I have not yet given a release letter. When do i need to inform immigration and can i start to go through the motions of hiring another helper? Thenks for any advice