Canada Caregivers Programs

3. Canadian Work Experience

After submitting proof of your Canadian work experience, the officer assesses you to confirm your qualification. That takes place upfront: in the initial stages of permanent resident application or once you receive the occupation-restricted open work permit (OROWP) via one of the pilots below:

Applicants without qualifying work experience: You may be eligible for the program but lack the 24 months of qualifying work experience in Canada during your permanent residence application.  In such a case, you receive an OROWP. This work permit allows you to obtain at least 24 months of authorised full-time (at least 30 hours of paid work per week) work experience within 36 months.

Applicants with below 24 months of work experience (Category A): If you’re eligible for the permanent residence application but with less than 24 months of work experience, you also receive an OROWP.  However, you’ll need less time to catch up with the requirement because you can count your experience as part of the 24 months threshold. Even so, you must prove that you acquired it within the 36 months preceding your proof of work experience submission.

Applicants with 24 months of work experience (Category B): If you have at least 24 months of work experience in Canada during the application time, you must provide proof before applying for permanent residence. You must demonstrate that you have a minimum of 24 months of eligible Canadian full-time work experience within the 36 before application time.

What Work Counts In The Canadian Work Experience?

You must have gained your work experience through an eligible occupation to qualify. That means a job listed in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) as follows:

Home Child Care Provider Pilot: You must have obtained your qualifying work experience as a home care provider (NOC 4411). During this time, you must have been providing in-home care to children below 18 years. It could be in your home, the child’s or the employer’s home. Moreover, if you’re a foster parent, you aren’t an eligible candidate for this program.

Home Support Worker Pilot: The source of your qualifying work experience must be serving as a home support worker and related occupations (NOC 4412). However, among the NOC sub-occupations, housekeepers and other related occupations aren’t eligible for a home support worker application.

Therefore, it’s upon you to satisfy the officer that you primarily offered personal care and support services which align with the primary duties defined in the NOC occupational description. That includes performing routine housekeeping duties like washing dishes and laundry, among others. Such duties lie under the in-home care class.

All Home Child Care Provider Pilot Program and Home Support Worker Pilot Program applicants must have been temporary residents and be authorised during the Canadian work experience period. Unauthorised work won’t count.

You can obtain authorised work experience through combined work permits and other work authorisation.

Generally, you must demonstrate that you accomplished the following for your qualifying work experience to be valid:

• A significant number of primary duties, including all activities specified in the NOC’s initial lead statement
• Duties beginning with ‘may’ in the NOC description are non-essential

Canadian Work Experience Breaks

You don’t have to be working during your permanent residence application time. Also, you don’t have to work continuously to gain Canadian work experience. However, your 24 months of employment mustn’t include:

• Extended absenteeism from Canada (even if it’s out of work engagements)
• Unemployment periods
• Prolonged sicknesses
• Parental leave

A reasonable break is the one you get after meeting the work experience requirement. Usually, it’s two weeks of paid vacation leave within 52 weeks. You can spend your vacation in or outside Canada.

Moreover, any employment, including self-employment when studying full-time (during academic breaks), doesn’t count as part of your qualifying work experience period. If your work permit and study permit overlap, you must prove that you obtained your work experience after completing your full-time studies.

If you don’t have the 24 months of qualifying work experience, you must have proof of the following.

4. Job Offer

If you don’t meet the 24 months of qualifying work experience criteria during the initial application, you must show that you obtained a valid job offer:

• From a single employer in Canada: Your employer shouldn’t be a high commission, consulate, or embassy in Canada. And can comprise more than one person but with a single CRA business number.
• For a role not in Quebec province.
• To work full-time (a minimum of 30 hours per week of paid work).
• That isn’t seasonal.
• In an occupation under a homecare provider or home support worker.
• That’s genuine and whose validity won’t expire before you receive the initial OROWP.

Moreover, the job offer must define the work and duties you’ll be performing. The duties must comply with the actions of the NOC lead statement description for the eligible occupation. Also, you must submit your initial job offer in the form of the ‘Offer of Employment [IMM 5983] (PDF, 2.3 MB).’

Note that foster parents and housekeeper jobs aren’t part of the primary duties.

Job Offer from a Relative

Even if your job offer is from a relative, it undergoes the same scrutiny as any other. The immigration officer must examine all the application circumstances to assess the genuineness and eligibility of the job offer and employee-employer association.

How to Assess a Job Offer Genuineness

This assessment is essential in ensuring the safety of a caregiver in Canada and protecting the program’s integrity. Some of the proof that a job offer is valid and genuine include the following:

• An honest need for a caregiver like a person with a chronic or terminal illness
• Alignment of the specified wage to the prevailing wage in the host province or territory
• The employer’s financial ability to pay the specified wage
• Reasonable accommodation provision for live-in arrangements

5. Capacity to Execute the Work

If you lack 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience, you must show that you can perform the work defined in the NOC lead statement description of such occupations, such as:

• NOC 4411 for Home Child Care Provider Pilot
• NOC 4412 for Home Support Worker Pilot

Nonetheless, foster parents and housekeepers aren’t part of NOC 4411 and NOC 4412, respectively.

Supporting Documentation

During your assessment, the immigration officer may refer to the documentation of your permanent residence application. It includes:

• Relevant previous work experience proof: Employer reference letter, employer records, pay stubs, and work contracts
• Copies of relevant training or education credentials
• Copies of your most recent Canadian work permit (If applicable)

Reach out to us if you need assistance in your application for the pilots and gathering support documents.

You have two application modes for these programs. You may apply on paper or online via the IRCC website.

The main determinant of your application process and eligibility requirements depend on your qualifying work experience. Nonetheless, all applicants must meet the minimum educational requirements (Educational Credential Assessment- EAC) and undertake a language ability test (English or French proficiency).

The other factor that defines your application path is your location during the initial application: Inside or outside Canada.

The application process involves application form filing and the document checklist. The checklist guides you on what supporting documents to gather to apply. Additionally, you must pay $CAN 1,085 for the application processing and the right of permanent residence fees.

Also, you may have to pay $85 for the biometric information submission (if applicable).

Since these caregiver programs have a yearly cap on their applicants, you may have to apply next time if the current year’s cap is already met.

2. Interim Pathway for Caregivers

This immigration route is a limited-time pathway to obtaining permanent residence for eligible in-home caregivers and their loved ones. It ended on October 8, 2019, but the processing of the applications submitted before the deadline is ongoing.

3. Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP)

‘Living-in’ means the caregiver lives with the sponsoring family. While it was one of the Canadian caregivers’ requirements in the past, it isn’t. LCP is a permanent caregiver program but is closed to new applicants.

However, suppose you’re eligible for the program. In that case, you can apply for permanent residence via Live-in Caregiver Program if you have a minimum of two years of work experience in the field and:

• Already working in Canada as an LCP work permit holder, or
• Your first Live-in Caregiver Program work permit’s approval was based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment submitted to Employment and Social Development Canada on or before November 30, 2014.

If you want to immigrate to Canada under these caregiver programs and aren’t sure about your eligibility, contact us for assistance and guidance.

You can apply through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to work temporarily in Canada as a caregiver. Your case must fall under one of the following to be eligible:

• You’re residing in Canada and qualify for a work permit application from inside the country
• You live outside Canada, and your employer applied for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before June 18, 2019
• Your job is in Quebec

Moreover, you can’t apply for a new work permit that requires LMIA if:

• Your employer’s LMIA application date is June 18, 2019, or after, and you’re applying from outside Canada via TFWP or your job province/territory is outside Quebec.
• Your work permit date at the port of entry is April 22, 2022, or after.
• You’re a visitor in Canada, and your first work permit application date is April 22, 2022, or after.

Also, you can extend your work permit through TFWP if you’re working in Canada as a caregiver. Nonetheless, your employer must obtain a positive LMIA before you extend or apply for a new work permit.

Note that you must maintain a valid temporary residence status while working in Canada.

A maintained status is the acceptable condition between the expiry of your document and an extension decision arrival.

While working in Canada as a caregiver, this’s the period between the expiring of your current work permit and obtaining a newly applied one. You can still stay, work, or study in the country during this time under the original work permit conditions.

During the maintained status period:

• Government services and benefits may not be easily accessible to you
• You must maintain the expired work permit conditions
• You lose the status if you leave the country, and when you re-enter, you must wait for your application processing to work again

The officer in charge will return your work permit application and fees upon rejecting your permanent residence application.