• Introduction
• New Veterans Charter
• Disability Benefits
  • Introduction
  • Prisoner of War Compensation
  • Allied Forces
  • Special Awards
  • Survivor and/or Survivor Dependant Benefits
• Allowances
• Health Care
  • Introduction
  • Health Benefits
  • Veterans Independence Program (VIP)
  • Long-Term Care
  • Appeals
• Support for Operational Stress Injury (OSI)
• Canada Remembers
• More information
• Appeals
  • Can I appeal a VAC Disability Benefit Decision?
  • BPA
  • VRAB

Services and Benefits

Veterans Independence Program (VIP)

This national home care program helps qualified Veterans, still-serving CF disability pensioners and certain civilians to remain healthy and independent in their own homes and communities.

VIP is only available in Canada. It cannot be offered to clients who live outside of Canada.

Under VIP, you may receive funds to help pay for grounds maintenance (such as grass-cutting or snow-shovelling), housekeeping, personal care, certain changes to your home, care and support by health professionals, and some transportation. Your ability to access VIP services depends on your health needs and if these services are available to you through another federal, provincial or municipal program.

VIP housekeeping and/or grounds maintenance services are also available to eligible primary caregivers of those Veterans who received these VIP services at the time of their death or admission to a long-term care facility in the years since the program began in April 1981. A primary caregiver can include a spouse, common-law partner, adult child or another individual.

Only those services that the Veteran was receiving at the time of his/her death or admission to a long-term care facility may be extended to the primary caregiver. That is, if a Veteran was only receiving grounds maintenance services, the primary caregiver will only be entitled to grounds maintenance services. To qualify, a primary caregiver must have a continuing need, due to health reasons, for the services to remain self-sufficient at home.

As part of Budget 2008, the Veterans Independence Program was expanded to provide housekeeping and/or grounds maintenance benefits to eligible low-income and disabled survivors of certain traditional war Veterans. For the survivor to be eligible, the Veteran must not have been receiving VIP housekeeping and grounds maintenance benefits when they died or were admitted to a health care facility.

An overview of these services and benefits is available in the Veterans Independence Program booklet. To obtain a copy and to find out if you qualify for these services and benefits, please call VAC at
1-866-522-2122.