Updated Canadian Visa Timelines at the Canadian Embassy in Hong Kong

When it comes to sponsoring a live-in caregiver from abroad, agencies and families are at the mercy of the government. There are various departments that applications have to go through before a visa is approved: the Canadian Revenue Agency, Job Bank, Service Canada, the Canadian embassy overseas and more (depending on what province your family resides in).  Please remember that any timelines quoted are estimates; we have no conceivable way to influence processing by the government.  The sooner you begin the process to sponsor, the better!

Recently, the Canadian embassy has updated their processing times abroad– specifically Hong Kong, where we source our overseas applicants from. The embassy is now quoting an estimated 6 month processing time upon submission of a complete visa application by a candidate — please coordinate your childcare accordingly! To view this revision, please visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website here. Given this new change, our approximation is 8 – 9 months to sponsor a live-in caregiver from Hong Kong and Macau without any guarantees.

In order to minimize delays as much as possible, always be on top of documents and submissions. As a sponsor, that means applying for your household payroll account in advance (particularly if you require your nanny urgently — this will save you a few weeks on your timeline), collecting supporting documents in advance (birth certificates, doctors’ notes confirming pregnancy, notice of assessments, etc.), signing all necessary forms, and submitting all documentation to Diamond Personnel as quickly as possible so that we can proceed accordingly.

We are always here to help, so don’t hesitate to get in contact with us! Information, timelines and details vary from province-to-province and territory-to-territory; for accurate information, it’s best to contact a consultant here at Diamond so that we can advise you.