The immigration folks in Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), are kicking off applications for two caregiver pilot programs on January 1: The Home Child Care Pilot Program and the Home Caregiver Pilot Program: Direct to Permanent Residence category.
These programs are tailor-made for people with professional caregiving and nursing experience. Launched in 2019, they’re here to stay until June 17, 2024. And they’ve been a hit, with nearly 1,100 caregivers scoring permanent residency in 2022.
If you’re into it and you tick the boxes, don’t dilly-dally. The cap for online applicants in the Home Caregiver Pilot Program (1,000) got maxed out on April 14, 2023, but there’s still room in 2023 for the Home Support Worker Pilot, according to their site.
Here’s the big scoop for 2023: If you’re a nurse, they sliced the work experience needed in half, from 24 to 12 months of full-time work. IRCC will change and shake things up for about 90% of caregiver immigration program folks with this update.
Full-time work means putting in 30 hours a week, and your experience should be from the last 36 months before you apply. Oh, and heads up, any student gigs don’t count.
Your work experience must match National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes 4411 or 4412. IRCC is straightforward in that it has to be one of these gigs, not a mix. And your job should align with the NOC job description, with you handling most of the core duties.
