Caregiver

Caregivers play an invaluable role in our healthcare system and communities. They provide an estimated three quarters of care in Ontario, supporting family members, partners, friends or neighbours with physical and/or mental health needs. They also offer unique knowledge that can enhance care delivery and health outcomes.

Canada has revised the caregiver pathway for permanent resident. At present, there are 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 programs are:
    –  Home Child Care Provider Pilot – NOC 44100
    –  Home Support Worker Pilot – NOC 44101

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

The following are the criteria for both Pilot.

⦁ 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 CLB 5;
⦁ One year of Canadian post-secondary education or the foreign equivalent; and
⦁ Pass an admissibility check 

Qualifying work experience
From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) 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