New Program Updates For The Caregiver Pilot — Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Last Updated On 31 March 2023, 9:43 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

Today, IRCC announces that they are lowering the in-Canada caregiver work experience requirement for permanent residency (PR) to 12 months.

Previously, in-Canada caregiver required 24 months of experience to apply for permanent residency under two 5-year pilot programs; Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot.

Furthermore, certain slots have been allocated under the current caregiver pathways for caregivers who already have work experience in Canada from a previous work visa and are eligible to seek for permanent residence.

The new changes will come in effect beginning April 30, 2023. Good news is that these new changes will be retrospective.

Retrospective means that new changes will also apply to caregivers who have already applied under the progams.

As per IRCC, this modification is estimated to benefit around 90% of applications presently in processing, which will assist both new caregivers and those who have been already providing care in Canada for some time.

The press release also stated that IRCC also plans to improve processing and applications by decreasing the amount of work experience necessary in Canada.

New Program Updates For The Canada Caregiver Pilot Programs

“Caregivers are an important option for families in Canada and have played an instrumental role in the lives of many growing children, aging parents, and those who need additional specialized care. By reducing the work experience required in Canada to one year, more caregivers and their families will become eligible to transition to permanent residence sooner, meaning that they can settle down and start the next chapter of their lives here in Canada.”
– The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Nearly 1,600 caregivers and their family members have become permanent residents since the pilot programs began in 2019.

Through the two pilots, almost 1,100 caregivers and their family members became permanent residents in 2022 alone.