Does my employer take taxes out of my pay?

Yes. Your employer can collect income tax and send it to the Canada Revenue Agency. Every year, your employer sends a record of how much you earned and how much income tax was withheld from your earnings and sent to the Canada Revenue Agency on your behalf. You get a copy of this information on a T4 slip. Your employer must give this to you by the end of February each year. Use the T4 to file your income tax return. Your income tax return is due before April 30 every year. You can get an income tax form at any Canada Post office.

What other rights do I have?

You have the right to privacy in your home. For example, you should ask for a lock on the door of your room as well as a key to the house where you live and work. You may spend your non-working hours as you wish. Your employer cannot insist that you spend your non-working time in her or his house. You can refuse to do work that is not in your employment contract.

Your legal documents, such as your passport and work permit, are your private property. Do not give them to your employer.

When can I sponsor my family members to come to Canada?

Your family members living in Canada and abroad may be included in your application for permanent resident status in Canada. Their applications for permanent resident status will be processed at the same time as yours. Your family members living abroad will not receive their papers to come to Canada until you receive permanent resident status.

All the family members included in your application for permanent resident status in Canada, whether residing in Canada or abroad, must pass medical and background checks. You cannot get permanent resident status until your family members all pass these checks.

If and when all the requirements are met, then you and your family members in Canada will be invited to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada office nearest your home to obtain your permanent resident status.

An officer will issue permanent resident visas to those family members living outside Canada who were included on your application. Your family members can then come to Canada and get permanent resident status.

Can I return to my home country for a vacation?

Yes, you can return to your home country for a vacation. But the length of your vacation should be written in your employment contract. If you take a longer vacation than you have agreed to in your contract, you could lose your job in Canada.

Citizens from some countries and territories must have temporary resident visas to enter Canada. If you are from one of these countries, you may have to reapply for the visa before you can return to Canada. This could take time. Find out about the temporary resident visa requirement before you leave Canada.

If you stay outside Canada for more than one year or if your work permit expires while you are outside Canada, you will have to reapply to return to Canada under the Live-In Caregiver Program.