June 27, 2019

Updates to PR Programs for Care Workers

Posted by Legal Team - Bellissimo Law Group PC

Care workers who intend to submit an application for permanent residence (PR) should consider the Home Support Worker Pilot and the Home Child Care Provider Pilot as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada closed the Caring for Children Program and the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Program on 18 June 2019. The new pilot programs require applicants to demonstrate that they have:

scored at least CLB 5 in English or NLCL 5 in French on an IRCC-approved language test;
completed at least one year of post-secondary education in Canada (or the foreign equivalent); and
completed at least 24 months of full-time work experience as a home child care provider (NOC 4411) and/or home support worker (NOC 4412) within the 36 months preceding the date of their PR application.

Applicants who lack the required work experience but meet the other requirements of the pilot programs, may submit a work permit application (to work for any employer but only as a home child care provider or home support worker) along with their PR application. If the work permit application is granted and the applicant accumulates 24 months of qualifying work experience, the PR application will be processed by IRCC.

IRCC opened the Interim Pathway for Caregivers from 4 March 2019 to 4 June 2019 for individuals who had ceased to be eligible for PR following the introduction of the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilot programs on 30 November 2014. The Interim Pathway enabled certain care workers to apply for PR if they had:

a valid work permit or be awaiting a decision on an application to extend a work permit or restore your status as a worker;
at least 12 months of full-time work experience since 20 November 2014 as a home child care provider (NOC 4411) and/or home support worker (NOC 4412);
taken an IRCC-approved language test and scored at least CLB 5 in English or NLCL 5 in French in all language abilities; and
a Canadian secondary school diploma or its equivalent (an assessment of foreign credentials by an IRCC-designated organization is required).

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen announced earlier this month that there will be another opportunity to apply for PR through the Interim Pathway – it “will reopen once again on July 8, 2019, and will be open for three months”. Hopefully, this additional window will provide applicants with the time they require to obtain the required documentation and submit a complete PR application.

It is important to note that in order to be eligible for either of the new pilot programs or the Interim Pathway, applicants must intend to reside in a province other than Quebec and cannot be inadmissible to Canada.