Caregivers

In 2019, Canada launched two new pilot programs for caregivers: Home Child-Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot. If you don’t have relevant Canadian work experience but meet all the other eligibility requirements, this pilot allows you to apply for a work permit and permanent residence at the same time. After you come to Canada on a work permit and gain the required work experience, the pilot can provide you with a direct pathway towards permanent residence. As a caregiver, you can come to Canada together with your family members, who can apply for a work permit or a study permit at the time of your application.

To qualify for permanent residence under the Home Child-Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot, you need to:

• have at least 1 year of post-secondary education,
• meet the minimum language requirement at the Canadian Language Benchmark level 5, and
• have at least 12 months of qualifying Canadian work experience within the last 36 months before you apply.

Eligible work experience in the Home Child Care Provider Pilot includes occupations with duties described in the NOC 44100, such as babysitting and child caregiving. Eligible work experience in the Home Support Worker Pilot covers occupations with duties listed in the NOC 44101, which include personal care and companionship for seniors, persons with disabilities and convalescent clients.

If you don’t have qualifying work experience but meet other requirements of the pilot, you can first apply for a work permit to come to Canada and gain the lacking experience. In this case, besides the education and language requirements, you will need to secure a job offer in Canada in one of the qualifying occupations. You would also need to prove that you are actually able to and plan to do the job. Once you gain 12 months of qualifying work experience and submit a proof, the immigration officer will review your documents and make a final decision on your permanent residence application.