Canada Caregiver Immigration Programs & PR Pathways
Canada has offered several caregiver immigration pathways for people providing child care, home support and related care services. The current federal permanent residence pathways are the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Child Care and the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Home Support. Intake under both current pilots is paused, and IRCC is not accepting new applications at this time. Previous caregiver programs, including the Home Child Care Provider Pilot, Home Support Worker Pilot and Live-in Caregiver Program, have ended or are closed to new applicants.
Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots
The current federal caregiver pathways are:
- Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Child Care
- Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Home Support
Applicants must generally:
- intend to live and work in Canada outside Quebec
- meet the requirements of the applicable pilot and stream
- achieve at least CLB/NCLC 4 in reading, writing, listening and speaking
- have at least the equivalent of a Canadian secondary school diploma
- have qualifying recent work experience or qualifying recent training
- have a qualifying job offer
- be able to perform the duties of the offered position
- meet federal admissibility requirements
Foreign educational credentials generally required an Educational Credential Assessment showing equivalency to at least a Canadian secondary school diploma.
Applicants could qualify through at least 6 months of continuous, full-time relevant work experience gained within the previous 3 years. Alternatively, they could qualify through a relevant post-secondary training credential of at least 6 months completed within the previous 2 years, subject to IRCC’s training requirements.
Self-employment and work completed as a full-time student or through a co-op placement do not qualify. Work experience gained in Canada must generally have been authorized.
Eligibility by Stream
Applicants also had to meet the requirements of the applicable stream. The Workers in Canada stream had specific residence and work-authorization requirements, while the Applicants not working in Canada stream included additional requirements such as proof of settlement funds. A limited public policy also applied to certain home care workers in Canada without valid status or work authorization.
All streams are currently closed to new applications.
Relevant occupations for work experience or training included:
Child Care Pilot
- Home child care providers — NOC 44100
- Certain early childhood educator and assistant roles — NOC 42202
Home Support Pilot
- Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations — NOC 44101
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates — NOC 33102
Not all occupations under NOC 42202 qualify, so applicants must ensure their role matches an eligible occupation under the Child Care Pilot.
Home Care Job Offer
A qualifying job offer under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots had to be for one of these occupations:
- Home child care providers — NOC 44100
- Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations — NOC 44101
The job offer had to be:
- in Canada outside Quebec
- full-time and continuous
- at least 30 paid hours per week
- non-seasonal
- permanent, with no set end date
- genuine
- consistent with the job description and most of the main duties of the applicable NOC
- paid at or above the applicable Job Bank median wage for the occupation in the province or territory of employment
For the Child Care pilot, the job could not be in an institutional setting such as a daycare, and work as a foster parent did not qualify.
For the Home Support pilot, the job could not be in an institutional setting such as a nursing home.
NOC 42202 and NOC 33102 could be used for qualifying work experience or training in certain circumstances, but job offers under the pilots had to be in NOC 44100 or NOC 44101.
Current Status of the Caregiver Pilots
IRCC paused new intake under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots after demand exceeded the number of available immigration spaces and the application inventory grew.
The pilots did not reopen in March 2026. Ministerial Instructions effective March 31, 2026 prevent IRCC from accepting new applications under the current pilot streams while existing applications continue to be processed.
The current Ministerial Instructions remain in effect until March 30, 2030 unless repealed earlier; this date is not a scheduled reopening date.
Both the Workers in Canada stream and the Applicants not working in Canada stream are currently closed to new applications. IRCC has indicated that the Applicants not working in Canada stream is expected to open at a later date, but no specific opening date has been announced.
Applications Already Submitted
IRCC continues to process applications that were accepted before intake closed.
Applicants with pending applications should continue to:
- monitor IRCC correspondence
- respond to requests for additional documents or information
- complete biometrics, medical examinations and other admissibility requirements when requested
- report relevant changes to their contact information, family circumstances or qualifying job offer
Applicants do not have to remain with the employer who provided the original job offer while their permanent residence application is being processed. However, they must continue to have a valid qualifying job offer until they become permanent residents and must be authorized to work in any new position. If an applicant receives a new qualifying job offer, the change should be reported to IRCC with the required employment information and supporting documents.
Applicants under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots are not eligible for a bridging open work permit. Certain applicants covered by the specific public policy for out-of-status or unauthorized home care workers may have separate options to restore or extend their status and obtain an open work permit if they meet the applicable requirements.
Processing times vary based on IRCC’s inventory, application completeness, verification requirements and individual circumstances.
Former Caregiver Pathways
Canada previously operated several caregiver immigration programs that are separate from the current Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots.
The Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot ended on June 17, 2024. IRCC no longer accepts new applications under those pilots but continues to process eligible applications received on or before that date.
The older Live-in Caregiver Program is also closed to new applicants and operated under different requirements.
These former programs should not be confused with the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots introduced in 2025. The current pilots are also closed to new applications at this time, but their intake is paused and they have not been announced as permanently ended.
