The TFWP explained: the 8 real steps to welcome a live-in nanny in Quebec

A family in Trois-Rivières called us in March. Two children, two parents in medicine, alternating night shifts. They had been searching for fourteen months. Fourteen months of listings, interviews, and candidates who never called back or left after six weeks.

Theirs is not an unusual story. In Quebec, the pool of available local nannies has emptied out, and it is not refilling. Families who need steady presence — not a stopgap — all end up asking the same question: how do you bring someone from abroad, and how long does it actually take?

The honest answer is 8 to 9 months. Here is why, and what those months actually buy you.

The TFWP, in one sentence

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program lets a Quebec family hire a live-in caregiver from abroad, legally, with a work permit issued in her name. She lives in your home. She earns from $19 an hour depending on the applicable occupational category, and her status is documented from the first day to the last.

This is not a recruitment shortcut. It is a federal procedure with mandatory steps that follow a fixed order. None can be skipped, and none can be sped up by paying more. That is precisely what explains the timeline.

Who qualifies — and the nuance that changes everything

Families living outside Greater Montreal are fully eligible for the live-in stream. Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Drummondville: in these regions, a file proceeds normally.

In Montreal, Laval and Brossard, a restriction applies when the local unemployment rate exceeds a certain threshold. Many families stop right there, convinced the door is closed.

A medical exception exists. When someone in the household has a documented condition — an aging parent losing autonomy, a child with special needs — the geographic restriction can be lifted.

This exception is assessed case by case, on documentation. It is never automatic, and nobody serious will guarantee it to you over the phone. But it is real, and it opens the program to Montreal families who assumed they were excluded. If this is your situation, our page on elderly care sets out the conditions.

The 8 real steps, from first call to arrival

1. Defining the need. Actual hours, ages of the children, preferred language, housing constraints. A private bedroom is required by the program. Allow one to two weeks.
2. Selecting the candidate. We present verified profiles: experience, references, criminal record checks, interviews. You meet candidates by video call. Two to six weeks depending on your availability.
3. Building the employer file. Job description, compliant job offer, advertising, proof of prior local recruitment. This is the part families underestimate most, and the one that sinks poorly prepared files.
4. The LMIA. The Labour Market Impact Assessment is filed with Service Canada, which verifies the hire does not harm the local labour market. This is the longest and least predictable stage: two to four months.
5. The work permit application. Once the LMIA is positive, the candidate applies from her home country. Processing times vary by visa office.
6. Medical and biometric checks. Examination by a panel physician, fingerprints, photograph.
7. Arrival and settling in. Flight, welcome, social insurance number, bank account, health card. Those first weeks matter as much as everything before them.
8. Integration. Establishing the family routine and, in most cases, French-language training. Since November 2024, a French proficiency requirement applies to Quebec files: our tutoring services prepare candidates for the TEF and TCF certifications.

Add it up: 8 to 9 months between the first call and the first morning she makes breakfast in your kitchen. A family starting today is looking at an arrival next spring.

What it actually costs

Three separate line items, worth keeping distinct.

The caregiver’s wage — from $19 an hour for an international live-in nanny, depending on the occupational category. It is a salary, with the employer obligations that come with it.

Government fees — LMIA filing, work permit, medical exams, biometrics. These are set by the authorities and identical for everyone.

Agency fees — these vary with the complexity of the file, the region and the profile sought. We do not publish a single flat rate, because advertising a fixed price for situations that are nothing alike would be dishonest. The quote is free and itemized, line by line, before any commitment.

Why this is a legal file first

A TFWP file is a legal matter before it is a recruitment exercise. A poorly drafted job offer, incomplete proof of local recruitment, a bedroom that does not meet requirements: any one of these can get an LMIA refused after three months of waiting. And a refusal is not corrected, it is restarted.

That is why Regency Nannies is led by a lawyer, a member of the Quebec Bar, and backed by an in-house legal team. Not an outsourced firm you will never meet: the same people who build your file are the ones who defend it.

It also explains the rest of the journey. A work permit obtained properly opens the path to permanent residence within two to four years. A caregiver building her life here does not leave after a year. For your children, that is the difference between a succession of faces and a steady presence.

Where to start

With a twenty-minute conversation. We look at your region, your family situation and your schedule, and we tell you plainly whether the TFWP is the right route — or whether a local live-out nanny or a European au pair would suit your reality better. Often, that is the case.

Since 2004, more than 1,000 Quebec families have trusted us. You can review the details of our live-in nanny program or call us directly.