Caregiver

The Caregiver Program allows persons residing in Canada to employ qualified foreign workers to provide care for children, elderly persons or persons with a chronic medical condition or disability.

There are now three ways to apply for permanent residence through the Caregiver Program.

Caring for Children Pathway  – A pathway to permanent residence for caregivers who have provided child care in a home.

•    two years of full-time work experience in Canada as a home child care provider (NOC 4411) within the past four years, authorized with a work permit;

•    a minimum language requirement of “initial intermediate” by meeting Canadian Language Benchmark 5  in a designated third-party language test; and

•    a Canadian post-secondary education credential of at least one year, or an equivalent foreign credential supported by an Educational Credential Assessment.

Caring for People with High Medical Needs Pathway – A pathway to permanent residence for caregivers who have provided care for the elderly or those with disabilities or chronic disease in a health facility or in a home.

•    two years of full-time work experience in Canada, authorized with a work permit, providing in-home care or care in a health facility to the elderly or persons with disabilities or chronic disease as, for example, a registered nurse, a registered psychiatric nurse, a licensed practical nurse, a nurse aide, a patient service associate or a home support worker;

•    licensed to practice in Canada, if applicable;

•    a minimum language requirement of “intermediate” by meeting Canadian Language Benchmark 7 in a designated third-party language test, if applying as a registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse;

•    a minimum language requirement of “initial intermediate” by meeting Canadian Language Benchmark 5 in a designated third-party language test, if applying in any other qualifying occupation; and

•    a Canadian post-secondary education credential of at least one year, or an equivalent foreign credential supported by an Educational Credential Assessment.

When you apply for permanent residence for this pathway, you will need to show that you performed the duties described in one of the following National Occupational Classifications for two years in Canada:
•    Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (NOC 3012)
•    Licensed practical nurses (NOC 3233)
•    Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 3413)
•    Home support workers and related occupations, but not Housekeepers and related occupations (NOC 4412)

For both the Caring for Children Pathway and the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Pathway, you will not need to live in the home of your employer to qualify for permanent residence.

Live-in Caregiver Program – A pathway to permanent residence for live-in caregivers who are already working in Canada with a Live-in Caregiver Program work permit, as well as caregivers who are approved for their first Live-in Caregiver Program work permit based on an employer’s positive Labour Market Impact Assessment application that was submitted to Service Canada on or before November 30, 2014.

You may be eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada after you have had the following work experience under the Live-in Caregiver Program:

•    24 months of authorized full-time live-in employment, or

•    3,900 hours of authorized full-time employment. You can complete these hours within a minimum of 22 months. When calculating your hours, you can also include up to 390 hours of overtime; and

The work experience must be acquired within four years of your date of arrival.