Canadian Immigration and Work Permit Options for Caregivers

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot
• Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot
• Work Permit Pathways for Caregivers
• Contact us for Assistance

Overview

Canada has a long history of welcoming caregivers to support its economy and society. One of the reasons why Canada has a leading immigration system is it is always looking to modernize its immigration policies and programs. In this spirit, Canada has reformed its caregiver pathways for permanent residence in recent years. It currently operates two pilot programs for caregivers who wish to obtain permanent residence. The pilots also give applicants the opportunity to obtain temporary work permits while they wait for permanent residence. The first is called the Home Child Care Provider Pilot. The second is called the Home Support Worker Pilot.

Each program accepts a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, for a total of 5,500 principal applicants, per year.

Note that effective April 30, 2023, the amount of work experience required in Canada for a caregiver to qualify for permanent residence is being reduced from 24 months to 12 months. The work experience change will be retrospective for caregivers who have already applied.

Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots

On March 31, 2025 Canada will launch two new streams for caregivers to gain Canadian permanent residence on arrival. 

These streams will be known collectively as the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP) and will encompass:

• The Workers in Canada stream; and 
• The Applicants not working in Canada stream. 

Both of these streams feature reduced work experience and langauge test requirements, and are intended for foreign home care workers who want to settle in Canadian provinces other than Quebec. 

To learn more about these pathways, visit our dedicated webpage.

Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot

As of June 17 2024, the Home Child Care Provider Pilot, and Home Support Worker Pilot are closed. 

However, previous applicants to "Gaining experience" category, who submitted their application before this date, and have since acquired the necessary amount of work experience may submit proof of their work experience to IRCC, to have their permanent residence application considered. 

Both the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot offer permanent residence to caregivers who meet the following criteria:

• Effective April 30, 2023, have at least 12 months of full-time qualifying work experience in the 36 months before submitting your application;
• Language tests results showing a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 5;
• One year of Canadian post-secondary education or the foreign equivalent; and
• Pass an admissibility check (health, criminality, and security).

Qualifying work experience

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) outlines the following information on its work experience criteria for the pilots:

• Effective April 30, 2023, you need to have at least 12 months of full-time work experience within the 36 months of applying to a pilot
• The work experience must fall under National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes 4411 or 4412
• Your work experience must be in one of these jobs, it cannot be a mix of both jobs
• You need to demonstrate your job matched the NOC job description and you completed most of the main duties
• Your work experience does not need to be 12 months in a row. It just needs to be 12 months total
• Full-time work is defined as at least 30 hours of paid work each week

Caregivers with work experience in NOC 4411 (excluding foster parents) may be eligible for permanent residence through the Home Child Care Provider Pilot:

• You must care for children below the age of 18 in your home or your employer's home
• You do not need to live in your employer's home to be eligible
• Work experience as a foster parent does not count

Caregivers with work experience in NOC 4412 (excluding housekeepers) may be eligible for permanent residence through the Home Support Worker Pilot:

• You must have taken care of someone who needs help from a home support worker. This can have taken place in your home or in your employer's home
• You do not need to live in your employer's home to be eligible
• Only home support workers can be eligible under NOC 4412
• Experience as a housekeeper does not count

Language levels

You must take an IRCC-designated English or French language test and obtain a CLB or NCLC 5 in all four language skills: writing, reading, listening, and speaking.

Education

You must have completed a post-secondary educational credential of at least 1 year. This can be Canadian or foreign education. If it is foreign education, you must obtain an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

Admissibility

IRCC completes admissibility checks on permanent residence applicants to ensure new immigrants do not pose a risk to the health and safety of Canadians. Each applicant has different documents they need to submit depending on their background. IRCC specifies its requirements in its application guide. Depending on your background, you may need to submit:

• Biometrics
• Medical exam
• Police clearance certificate 

It is important to carefully read IRCC's application requirements to understand what documents you personally need to submit.

Work Permit Pathways for Caregivers

 Caregivers who are in occupations corresponding to National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes 44100 (Home Child Care Provider) or 44101 (Home Support Worker), may be able to get an expedited work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). 

To be eligible to apply for this Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-based work permits, caregivers must:

• Have an employer who has received a positive LMIA to hire a caregiver;
• Currently be outside of Canada and intend to work in the province of Quebec; OR
• Currently in Canada, and in one of the following situations;
  • They hold a valid study or work permit;
  • They are allowed to work in Canada without a work permit (business visitors are not included under this condition);
  • They plan to work in Quebec, and are eligible to apply for a work permit from inside Canada. 

Foreign caregivers in Canada who applied for their new caregiver work permit before the expiry of their previous work permit may be able to start work before the issuance of their new work permit. This applies to:

• Caregivers who are already working for the employer who sponsored their positive LMIA; or 
• Caregivers changing employers, if they apply for authorization to change jobs while IRCC processes their application. 

Contact us for Assistance

Cohen Immigration Law is a leading Canadian immigration law firm with over 45 years of experience. Cohen Immigration Law features over 60 immigration lawyers, paralegals, and professionals who are dedicated to helping you immigrate to Canada.

CanadaVisa.com was founded as the online presence of Cohen Immigration Law. Since its launch in 1994, CanadaVisa has grown into one of the globe's most trusted resources on Canadian immigration. If you want to immigrate to Canada through Quebec's skilled workers programs or another skilled worker pathway, the first step is to complete a free CanadaVisa assessment form. If you are eligible for Quebec or Canadian immigration, a member of the Cohen Immigration Law team will reach out to provide you with as much assistance as possible.

Complete our FREE assessment to find out if you are eligible to immigrate to Canada