Skip to main content
Caregivers & home care workers

The caregiver PR pilots are closed. The work permits are not.

IRCC has closed every permanent-residence pilot built for caregivers, including the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots. What is still open is the LMIA-based work permit for home child care providers (NOC 44100) and home support workers (NOC 44101) — a stream IRCC currently processes faster than most. This page shows which door is still standing, and how you get through it.

RCIC-led Brampton & London PR pilots closed Checked 2 Aug 2026
Program status

What is closed, and what is still open.

Checked against IRCC on 2 August 2026. If a website is still selling you a caregiver PR pilot, it is out of date.

  • Home Care Worker Immigration pilots — closed

    Both the Child Care and the Home Support streams are closed, for applicants and for employers.

  • Home Child Care Provider & Home Support Worker pilots — closed

    The last day to apply was 17 June 2024.

  • Live-in Caregiver Program — closed

    Open only to people who already hold a permit under it, based on an LMIA filed before December 2014.

  • Caring for Children, High Medical Needs, Interim Pathway — closed

    All three closed in 2019.

  • LMIA-based work permit — open

    Home child care provider (NOC 44100) and home support worker (NOC 44101) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. IRCC currently gives this stream faster processing than most work permits.

  • But read the fine print

    You can apply from inside Canada if you hold a valid study or work permit, or if you may work without one. From outside Canada the job must be in Quebec. Visitors and port-of-entry applications are not accepted for this stream.

  • Extending or changing employers — open

    Already working in home care in Canada? You can extend, or move employer, once the new employer holds a positive LMIA. Do it before your permit expires.

  • Provincial nominee streams — open in places

    Several provinces still nominate health and home support occupations. Which ones are moving changes month to month.

Eligibility check

Would a home care work permit work for you?

Four questions covering what actually decides a home care file now that the PR pilots are closed.

Your background

Answer all four for a result.

Care must be delivered in a private home, not a facility.
Foreign credentials normally need an educational credential assessment.
Who qualifies

Who these programs are for.

Caregiver routes are built for hands-on care in a private home. Facility-based roles follow different pathways.

Home child care providers

Caring for children in a private home, including nannies and live-in or live-out child caregivers.

NOC 44100

Home support workers

Supporting seniors, people with disabilities, or people recovering from illness in a private residence.

NOC 44101

Applicants from abroad

Workers overseas with a qualifying job offer who want a direct route into Canada.

Caregivers already in Canada

People already working in care here who want to move from temporary status to permanent residence.

Families hiring a caregiver

Canadian families who need help structuring a compliant job offer and, where required, an LMIA.

The requirements

What you generally need.

The closed pilots set these bars. The bars have not disappeared — employers, provinces and a later PR application still test the same four things, so this is what to have ready.

  • A qualifying job offer

    Full-time home care work in a private home, structured properly. The offer is often where applications fail.

  • Language ability

    Generally CLB or NCLC 4 across the abilities, on an approved test. Lower than most PR routes, but it must be current.

  • Education

    A Canadian secondary credential or the foreign equivalent, normally proven with an educational credential assessment.

  • Relevant experience or training

    Recent, genuine experience in care work, or training that maps to the occupation you apply under.

  • The right occupation code

    Child care and home support are distinct streams. Applying under the wrong one is a common, costly error.

  • Admissibility

    Medical and security requirements apply as they do to any permanent residence application.

How we work

How we support caregiver applications.

01

Confirm the stream

We establish whether your work is child care or home support, and whether your history genuinely supports it.

02

Audit documents early

ECA, language tests and experience letters take time. We start these before your employer files an LMIA, not after.

03

Structure the job offer

We work with the employer or family so the offer, duties and hours match what the program requires.

04

File, then plan for PR

We prepare the work permit application, then map the PR routes that are actually open: provincial nomination, or Express Entry once you hold Canadian experience.

Caregiver help

Find out if you qualify.

Caregiver programs reward preparation. Tell us your background and a licensed RCIC will confirm which stream fits and what to get ready now.

Questions about caregiver programs?

We keep every common question — eligibility, documents, timing, fees and processing — answered and updated in one place.

Visit the Help Centre
Related services

Explore your other options.

General information only, not legal advice, and current as of July 2026. Rules, fees and processing times change — confirm current requirements on canada.ca before filing. Contacting us does not create a client–consultant relationship until a written retainer is signed. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Confidential · fee-exempt · nobody is contacted

Is your permit tied to an employer who is treating you badly?

An employer-specific permit can make leaving feel impossible. It is not. There is a permit built for this situation — free, prioritised, and your employer is never asked for permission.

In immediate danger? Call 911. Press Esc twice to leave instantly.

Caregiver review

Do you qualify under the caregiver pathways?

Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.

  • Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant — never a bot, never a salesperson
  • A written shortlist of the programs you realistically qualify for
  • Consultations are fee-based; you get the fee and available times by reply

CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.

Prefer to talk first? Call 647-948-7200 or book a paid consultation.