Home Child Care Providers & Home Support Workers
The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots were introduced in March 2025 to provide eligible home child care providers and home support workers with pathways to Canadian Permanent Residence (PR).
The two categories are:
- Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Child Care
- Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Home Support
Yes, if they meet the dependent definition.
No. IRCC paused new applications under both Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots. The Workers in Canada and Applicants Not Working in Canada streams are closed.
Currently, it is 12 months, and it is subject to vary from country to country and the number of applicants applying from each country. IRCC continues processing applications submitted before the applicable closures. Future intake will depend on government announcements.
Home Child Care Provider – NOC 44100: Provides care and supervision for children in a private household, including assistance with daily routines, meals, and age-appropriate activities.
Home Support Worker – NOC 44101: Assists seniors, individuals with disabilities, or people recovering from illness or injury with personal care and daily living activities in a home environment.
Potentially. Eligible caregivers may qualify through a caregiver-specific immigration program when intake is available, or through another federal or provincial immigration pathway if they meet its requirements.
The pilots require a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) level 4 in all four language abilities: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots, applicants generally require an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) that is equivalent to at least a Canadian secondary school diploma.
Under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots, applicants must show recent qualifying work experience or relevant training. Requirements include at least six months of eligible work experience or a qualifying training credential, subject to program-specific conditions.
Yes. Immigration programs may accept relevant experience obtained outside Canada if it meets the program's occupational, recency, duration, and documentation requirements.
An LMIA may be required under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), while some caregivers may already hold open work permits or qualify for LMIA-exempt authorization.
Generally, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program does not permit employers outside Quebec to use the regular LMIA process to bring a new in-home caregiver directly from overseas. However, an employer may be able to hire an eligible caregiver already in Canada, subject to the worker's status, work authorization, and applicable LMIA requirements.
Yes, if the caregiver is legally authorized to perform the proposed work or qualifies for an appropriate work permit.
Certain eligible experience or training as an early childhood education assistant may be considered toward the program's experience or training requirements.
Home child care providers (NOC 44100) and home support workers (NOC 44101) are generally TEER 4 occupations, so experience exclusively in those occupations does not satisfy the skilled-work requirement for Express Entry programs that require TEER 0–3 experience.