How to become a permanent resident in Canada as a Care Worker

The Federal Home Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot allow eligible applicants with caregiver work experience or a job offer to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

The 5-year pilot programs let qualified caregivers and their family members come to Canada with the goal of becoming permanent residents.

Every January 1st, the application caps for the two pilots are opened for eligible applicants to submit their applications for permanent residence.

In 2023, both the Home Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot accepted about 2,750 applications each, and with this, a total of about 5,500 applicants were able to apply through the pilots. The limited quota for the program is one of the reasons why the program is competitive, and why preparing ahead is very important.

What are the application requirements?

If you’ve been offered a job in Canada as a caregiver or have experience working in Canada as a caregiver, you may be able to apply for permanent residence through one of these pilots. This means to be eligible to apply, you must have at least one of the following:

• A one-year Canadian work experience as a home child care provider (NOC 44100), or as a home support worker (NOC 44101). This is the direct-to-permanent residence category, and you can read more about this here.
• An eligible job offer from an eligible employer in Canada. This is the gaining experience category that is more suitable for applicants from outside Canada, or applicants who do not have up to one-year of Canadian work experience as a home child care provider , or as a home support worker. You can read more about this here.

The application process will be different depending on your situation and how much qualifying work experience you have.

The direct-to-permanent residence category

As explained above, those who can apply for this category are applicants who already have up to one year of Canadian work experience as a home child care provider, or as a home support worker.

Eligibility

You may be eligible to apply for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot, if you:

• have enough work experience
• meet the language level
• meet the education requirement
• are admissible to Canada,
• plan to live outside the province of Quebec

Work experience

You must have at least 12 months of full-time work experience in Canada in the 36 months before you apply through the Direct to permanent residence category. The work experience must have been earned on a valid work permit in Canada.

Your work experience must also be in 1 of these National Occupational Classification (NOC) jobs:

Home child care provider (NOC 44100)

• You must care for children in your own home or in your employer’s private home.
  • The location can’t be an institutional setting such as a daycare.
• You don’t need to live in your employer’s home to qualify.
• Experience as a foster parent doesn’t count for this pilot.
• You don’t need to have worked 12 months in a row, just 12 months total, within the 36-month period before you apply.
• Any work experience you had while you were a full-time student in Canada does not count.

Home support worker (NOC 44101)

• You must have cared for someone who needs help from a home support worker in your employer’s private home.
  • The location can’t be an institutional setting such as a nursing home.
• You don’t need to have lived in your employer’s home to qualify.
• Only home support workers are eligible under NOC 44101.
• You don’t have to have worked 12 months in a row, just 12 months total, within the 36-month period before you apply.
• Any work experience you had while you were a full-time student in Canada does not count.

Additionally, your qualifying work experience must be in 1 of the jobs above. It cannot be a mix of both jobs.

Language levels

You need to take a language test to prove you meet the minimum language skills. The acceptable language tests for Canadian Immigration are:

• English (IELTS General Training, or CELPIP General Training)
• French (TEF or TCF)

To measure your English or French skills, the minimum language skill is CLB 5 in English or NLCL 5 in French for all 4 language skills:

• writing
• reading
• listening
• speaking

Education

You must have a completed post-secondary education credential of at least 1 year in Canada. If you don’t have a Canadian education credential, you need to get your foreign education credential assessed to show that it’s equal to a completed Canadian post-secondary education credential of at least 1 year.

How to apply

If you meet the requirements explained above, you can begin your application using the Permanent Residence portal here. For more information on how to complete your application, check the guide provided by the Government of Canada here.

The gaining experience category

As explained above, those who can apply for this category are applicants who do not have up to one-year of Canadian work experience as a home child care provider, or as a home support worker. It is suitable for those who are still outside Canada, or in Canada without the required Canadian work experience.

To apply for this, you need an eligible job offer that will allow you to come to Canada through a work permit, so you can get the 12-month Canadian work experience you need for permanent residence through the Home Child Care Provider or Home Support Worker Pilot.

The job you’re offered must be

• offered using the Offer of Employment IMM 5983 (PDF, 2.33 MB) form
• full-time, which means at least 30 hours of paid work each week
• from a Canadian employer
• outside the province of Quebec
• from an employer that is not a business, an embassy, a high commission or a consulate
• genuine, meaning there’s a real need to hire you

Additional information on the job offer requirement is available here.

Canada will also review the salary on your job offer. And you must show that you’ll be able to support yourself and your family members financially while working as a caregiver in Canada.

In addition to the above, you must also be able to show that you have:

Ability to do the work

Canada will use any past experience or training you have to decide if you’re able to do the work described in the NOC job description (lead statement).

Language levels

You need to take a language test to prove you meet the minimum language skills. The acceptable language tests for Canadian Immigration are:

• English (IELTS General Training, or CELPIP General Training)
• French (TEF or TCF)

To measure your English or French skills, the minimum language skill is CLB 5 in English or NLCL 5 in French for all 4 language skills:

• writing
• reading
• listening
• speaking

Education

You must have a completed post-secondary education credential of at least 1 year in Canada. If you don’t have a Canadian education credential, you need to get your foreign education credential assessed to show that it’s equal to a completed Canadian post-secondary education credential of at least 1 year.

How to apply

If you meet the requirements explained above, you can begin your application using the online application portal here. Where you are applying from (Inside or Outside Canada), will determine the additional documents you may need for your application.

Click on the links in the post to read more about each pilot, and familiarize yourself with the process. Additionally, other options available for caregivers in Canada can be found on the Government of Canada website here.