Canada is caring for its caregivers by launching 2 new pilots that will help caregivers who come to this country make it their permanent home.

The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots will open for applications on June 18, 2019, replacing the expiring Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots.

Caregivers will now only receive a work permit if they have a job offer in Canada and meet standard criteria for economic immigration programs. Once working in Canada, caregivers will be able to begin gaining the required 2 years of Canadian work experience to apply for permanent residence.

Through these new pilots, caregivers will also benefit from:

• occupation-specific work permits, rather than employer-specific, to allow for a fast change of employers when necessary;
  
• open work permits and/or study permits for the caregivers’ immediate family, to help families come to Canada together; and
  
• a clear transition from temporary to permanent status, to ensure that once caregivers have met the work experience requirement, they will be able to become permanent residents quickly.
  

These new pilots provide caregivers from abroad and their families with a clear, direct pathway to permanent residence.

Canada is committed to improving life for immigrants and supporting jobs for the middle class. 

Quote

“Canada is caring for our caregivers. We made a commitment to improve the lives of caregivers and their families who come from around the world to care for our loved ones and with these new pilots, we are doing exactly that.”

– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Quick facts

• The expiring pilots will close to new applications on June 18, 2019. Caregivers who have applied before this date will continue to have their applications processed through to a final decision.
• Caregivers who have been working toward applying to the soon-to-be-expired pilots can now apply through either the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or the Home Support Worker Pilot.
• The Interim Pathway for Caregivers, the short-term pathway for caregivers who came to Canada as temporary foreign workers since 2014 but were unable to qualify for permanent residence through an existing program, will be extended. It will re-open on July 8, 2019 and accept applications for 3 months.
• The new pilots, Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker, will each have a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, for a total of 5,500 principal applicants per year, plus their immediate family.
• Initial applications to the new pilots will have a 12-month processing service standard. A 6-month processing standard will apply for finalizing an application after the caregiver submits proof that they have met the work experience requirement.
• With the move to occupation-specific work permits under the Home Child Care and Home Support Worker pilots, employers will no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment before hiring a caregiver from overseas.