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Canada opened two new pilots for caregiver immigration on June 18. The new pilots–Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker–offer a direct pathway for caregiver immigration and allow the applicants to bring their family members to Canada. They replace the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots, as on June 18, 2019.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has fixed the maximum number of principal applicants for each pilot as 2,750. It means Canada will welcome a total of 5500 principal applicants and their family members under the new pilot programs every year.
In order to be eligible under these caregiver immigration pilot programs, the candidates must have a job offer from a Canadian employer and meet the standard criteria for economic immigration programs. After obtaining two years of work experience, they can apply for permanent residence in Canada.
Meanwhile, the federal government of Canada has announced that it will reopen the Interim Pathway for Caregivers on July 8, 2019 and accept applications for three months. This short-term pathway is meant for caregivers who came to Canada as temporary foreign workers since 2014 but did not qualify for permanent residence through an existing program.
Important features of the new caregiver immigration pilots
- Occupation-specific work permits in place of employer-specific work permits. It allows candidates to change jobs if they want.
- Open work permits and/or study permits for family members
- Guaranteed permanent residence after the candidate acquires two years of work experience.
The initial applications to the new pilots have a targeted processing time of 12 months. The applications for permanent residence from these caregivers once they acquire two years of work experience in Canada is expected to be six months.
Caregivers who were planning to apply under the expiring pilots can now apply through either of the new pilots. Those who applied through the old system before June 18 will have their applications processed through to a final decision. Moreover, as the candidates are being issued occupation-specific work permits, employers will no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before hiring a caregiver from overseas.
For the candidates who meet the eligibility criteria for caregiver immigration, the new pilot programs open a doorway for Canada migration. Please get in touch with us if you want to know more about caregiver immigration.
