Immigration — How to get Canadian Permanent Residency on arrival if you are a home care worker

On March 31, 2025, Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will open the doors for its much-awaited Home Care Worker Pilot Program. This program will allow qualified foreign caregivers to obtain Canadian permanent residency (PR) as soon as they arrive in Canada. This on-arrival PR foregoes the earlier rule of acquiring a certain amount of work experience in Canada before applying for PR.

According to IRCC, the new pilot program will not only offer home care workers PR status on arrival in Canada but also allow successful applicants to work for organisations that provide temporary or part-time care for semi-independent individuals or those recovering from an injury or illness (which is not currently allowed under existing caregiver programs).

The program was first announced in June 2024 before its predecessor programs were closed.

So far, IRCC has not announced the exact number allocation of home care workers who will be allowed entry under the pilot program. In its 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC has allocated 10,920 new immigrant admissions spots through Federal Economic Pilots. IRCC will have to divide these 10,920 new immigration admissions for 2025 between the Home Care Worker Pilot, Agri-Food Pilot, Community Immigration Pilots, and The Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot.

Eligibility for getting Canadian Permanent Residency on arrival

To qualify for the Home Care Worker pilot program, an applicant must:

• Secure a full-time job offer from a home care employer, such as an agency, healthcare institution, or a private employer seeking assistance with home care services.

• Demonstrate recent and relevant experience related to the offer of employment in Canada. Candidates must show they hold the skillset necessary to perform the role in Canada.

• Have at least Level 4 proficiency in English or French on the Canadian Language Bookmark (CLB) scale, ensuring effective communication with clients and employers. This is the lowest level of English, equivalent to 4 bands in writing and speaking, with 4.5 in listening and 3.5 in reading for IELTS. Currently, they must attain level 5.

• Have a Canadian high school diploma or an equivalent credential from the applicant’s country of residence. Education credentials obtained from outside of Canada will likely require an Education Credential Assessment report for immigration purposes from an IRCC-approved agency, including Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies; International Credential Assessment Service of Canada; World Education Services; International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS); International Credential Evaluation Service – British Columbia Institute of Technology; Medical Council of Canada; Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada; and Canadian Architectural Certification Board.

It may be recalled that this is not the first time the Canadian Government has made special immigration pathways to meet the country’s acute shortage of skilled health and healthcare workers. The earlier immigration programs that have now been closed are:

• Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot: These programs closed to new applications on June 17, 2024.

• Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP): This program stopped accepting new applications in 2014.

• Caring for Children Program: Ended on June 18, 2019.

• Caring for People with High Medical Needs Program: Ceased June 18, 2019 operations.

• Interim Pathway for Caregivers: A temporary pathway that ended on October 8, 2019.

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Other Immigration Pathways for Healthcare Professionals:

• Express Entry: The Express Entry (EE) system is an online points-based for skilled workers seeking PR in Canada. Candidates are scored based on age, education, foreign and Canadian work experience, and language proficiency and then invited to apply for PR. IRCC has held category-based draws specifically targeting candidates in the healthcare pool with 6 months or more of recent full-time (or part-time equivalent), continuous work experience in specified healthcare occupations, which usually have lower cutoff scores than general draws.

• Provincial Nominee Programs: Few Canadian provinces and territories have specialised pathways for foreign workers in the healthcare industry, while others prioritise invitations to individuals with work experience or job offers in specific healthcare occupations. For example, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP), and the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

Other countries with immigration pathways for healthcare professionals: With an acute shortage of healthcare professionals globally, several countries are offering immigration pathways for skilled foreign workers in the healthcare sector. For example, the United Kingdom has a Health and Care Worker Visa that offers fast-track residency options; in Germany, the EU Blue Card and Job Seeker Visa are viable options for healthcare professionals; and Ireland has a Critical Skills Employment Permit to fast-track the entry of skilled foreign workers in this sector.