Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that new immigration pilot programs for home care workers will launch on March 31, 2025. Collectively, IRCC refers to these initiatives as Canada’s “Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots.”
These programs will take the place of the previous caregiver permanent residence (PR) pathways, which have now ended.
Eligible home care workers will have the opportunity to obtain permanent residence as soon as they arrive in Canada under these new pathways.
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Eligibility for the New Home Care Worker Pilots
To qualify for these updated care worker immigration pathways, foreign nationals must:
- Demonstrate official language proficiency at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4;
- Possess the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma;
- Have recent and relevant work experience*; and
- Secure a full-time job offer in home care.
*As of June 16, 2024, candidates applying under previous home care worker programs needed only six months of eligible experience to qualify for permanent residence.
IRCC has yet to release additional details regarding eligibility criteria.
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Program Background
On June 3, 2024, IRCC first announced its plans to introduce new home care worker immigration pilots, initially providing limited details beyond basic eligibility requirements.
Shortly after, on June 17, 2024, the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot were discontinued. The upcoming Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots will serve as replacements for these caregiver immigration pathways.
The closure of these programs also marked a temporary pause in specialized caregiver immigration pilots. Previous caregiver pathways included:
- Live-in Caregiver Program (ended in 2014)
- Caring for Children Pilot (ended in 2019)
- Caring for People with High Medical Needs Pilot (ended in 2019)
- Interim Pathway for Caregivers (ended in 2019)
- Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot (ended in 2024)
Under its 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC has allocated 10,920 new immigrant admissions within the “Federal Economic Pilots” category, which includes the new Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots. The exact allocation for this pilot is yet to be confirmed, as IRCC must divide these admissions among:
- The new caregiver programs
- The Agri-Food Pilot
- Community Immigration Pilots
- The Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot