Caregivers from abroad play an important role in supporting the care needs of Canadian families across the country. Caregivers have come to Canada for decades to provide in-home care and support to Canadians, and in response, Canada has made available pathways to permanent residence for these workers.

The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots opened for applications on June 18, 2019, and will run until June 17, 2024. The caregiver pilots are designed to provide a clear, direct pathway to permanent residence for foreign in-home caregivers. The skills, abilities, and experience of those working in these occupations are essential to Canada’s economic immigration objectives and will continue to support the country’s long-term economic recovery, growth, and prosperity.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is committed to recognizing the significant contributions that caregivers make to Canadian families every day. To continue supporting these workers and the families who employ them, special measures are being introduced to ensure caregiver immigration returns to normal processing after significant disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PR status will be issued to foreign nationals who in 2020, have submitted an application, and whose application was not reviewed during that year. This public policy will prevent multiple-year processing delays, and positively impact future processing limits, as well as the caregivers and the families who employ them.