Apply for a Caregiver Visa to Canada 2024 update

Canada offers many visa options to people who want to work and live there. One of the most popular pathways is applying for caregiver status, which is available to people with specialized medical care knowledge or those with experience working as caregivers elsewhere in the world.

If you’re an experienced and qualified caregiver looking to work in Canada, you may be wondering about how to apply for a caregiver visa to Canada. With so much information, it can be hard to get the facts straight – especially when you’re already busy working. To learn more about the requirements, you’ll need to fulfill and some potential challenges you’ll face here’s everything you need to know about applying for a caregiver visa to Canada.

There are two ways for caregivers who want to immigrate to Canada. Canada has begun two new home caregiver pilot programs beginning on June 18, 2019, to help with the immigration of caregivers who provide support in the home. Additionally, they serve as a replacement for the LCP (Live-in Caregiver Program), which is no longer accepting new applications. But don't panic; you can apply for permanent residency through the new home care provider trial programs if you have a valid job offer or past Canadian caregiver experience and meet the eligibility requirements.

Overview of the Canadian Caregiver Immigration Programs

2019 saw the start of the pilot programs for home childcare providers and home support workers. These pathways to permanent residence for caregivers provide occupation-specific work permits instead of employer-specific work permits. Caregivers do not have to be tied to a single employer as long as they remain active in their industry. Around 2,900 caregivers and their family members settled there permanently in 2020.

According to the IRCC, nearly 12,000 applications for caregivers and their accompanying family members were still open as of March 3, 2021. This covers requests for participation in the Home Support Worker and Home Child Care Provider pilot programs and cases from earlier caregiver programs that IRCC is still processing. As of April 8, 2021, IRCC had received an estimated 2,367 Home Child Care Provider Pilot applications. This represents approximately 86% of all applications that can be approved for 2021. 516 applications for the Home Support Worker Pilot, or around 19% of all applications that could be accepted in 2021, have reportedly been received, according to the IRCC.

The two new immigration pilots available to caregivers are the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot. Both 5-year pilot programs are intended to assist skilled and experienced foreigners in providing in-home child care and home support services to settle in Canada and get permanent status. Let's take a deeper look at the prerequisites to see if you qualify to apply for the Home Support Worker Pilot or the Home Child Care Provider Pilot. The most beneficial factor between these programs and the LCP is that they enable you to change employers if desired and allow your family members to join you in Canada.

Home Child Care Provider Pilot

Home childcare providers may be expected to help with domestic chores and assist parents with child care. Care can be given in the caregivers' or their employers' homes, unlike the Live-in Caregiver Program, which mandates that careers reside in their employers' houses. The following job titles are acceptable for candidates for the program:

• Babysitter;
• Au pair;
• Child care live-in-caregiver;
• Child care provider - private home;
• Nanny;
• Parent's helper;
• Foster parent;
• Babysitter - fitness center; and
• Babysitter - shopping center.

Home Support Workers Providers

Home support workers help the elderly, those with disabilities, and those undergoing rehabilitation by offering personal care and company during recovery, incapacitation, and family turmoil. The responsibilities are preparing meals, feeding, bathing, changing clothes, administering medication, and doing other household chores. While providing care, the home support worker can be required to reside in the homes of their employers or clients. Home care providers may look after children, but that shouldn't be their primary responsibility. Candidates for this program may hold the following employment titles:

• Attendant for persons with disabilities - home care;
• Family caregiver;
• Home support worker;
• Housekeeper;
• Live-in caregiver - seniors;
• Personal aide - home support;
• Personal care attendant - home care;
• Respite worker - home support;
• Doula; and
• Home visitor - infant care.

Eligibility Requirements for Caregiver Visa to Canada

You may be eligible to apply for the Home Child Care Pilot or the Home Support Worker Pilot if you meet the following requirements.

Valid job offer

You must first obtain a formal offer from a Canadian company confirming that the position will be full-time and that you will put in at least 30 hours per week of labor. It must be evident that you need to be hired, and it might not come from an embassy, high commission, or consulate. It's possible that the offer isn't for employment in Quebec.

• Home Childcare Pilot: The children must be under 18 years of age and cared for in your home or your employer's home but you do not have to live in your employer's home.
• Home Support Worker Pilot: The person may be cared for in your home or your employer's home, but you do not have to live there.

Admissible to Canada

A customs officer will make this decision for you when you apply for your visa or Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or when you arrive in Canada. If you have a criminal past, are ill, or the border patrol agent feels you pose a security danger, you may be refused admission. The findings of your medical test and a police certificate are required for your application.

Language proficiency in English or French

Because you engage with both children and adults frequently, practical communication skills are essential. You must pass a language test to prove that you possess the necessary language skills, which include writing, reading, listening, and speaking. The test is available in both English and French.

Completion of 1 year of post-secondary school education

• Home Childcare Provider Pilot: If you have completed post-secondary school studies applicable to childcare outside of Canada, you need to have your foreign qualification assessed to determine if they meet the required one year of post-secondary education in Canada.
• Home Support Worker Pilot: Some secondary school education in conjunction with home care training is usually required

Child care and home management experience

• Home Childcare Provider Pilot: You will also be considered if you can show experience or training in childcare or home support. However, this will require you to complete one year of post-secondary education in Canada. Note that experience as a foster parent doesn’t count.
• Home Support Worker Pilot: You will also be considered if you can show experience or training in home management. However, this will require you to complete one year of post-secondary education in Canada. Note that former experience as a housekeeper doesn’t count.

Permanent Residence Through the Caregiver Visa to Canada

You must have worked as an in-home caregiver or domestic helper for at least 24 months before your application for permanent residency can be considered. You must also submit a work permit application along with your permanent residency application. If you satisfy the basic requirements for the pilot, a temporary work visa will be issued to you so that you can work in Canada. You can do this to amass the required job experience to be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Once you obtain your open work visa, which is occupation-restricted but also permits you to work as a caregiver for any employer and have at least 24 months of full-time work experience in Canada, you can apply for permanent residency. Your family members will be permitted to immigrate to Canada with you. If they wish to work or enroll in school, they may submit their applications with yours.

Final Thoughts

Don't jeopardize your opportunity to fulfill your Canadian dream. Because Canadian immigration programs and pilots are constantly changing, it may be difficult and confusing to consider immigrating to Canada. Consult authorized Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) to increase your chances of success while applying for a visa.

The new pilots, Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker will each have a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, totaling 5,500 principal candidates and their immediate families per year. New pilot application processing will take 12 months. After the caregiver provides job experience, the application will be processed in six months. Employers can hire foreign caregivers without a Labor Market Impact Assessment under the Home Child Care and Home Support Worker pilots' occupation-specific work permits.