June 16, 2024 – On June 3, 2024 the Honorable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced new, enhanced caregiver pilot programs that give migrant caregivers landed status on arrival. In past years, caregivers had been arriving under Canada’s temporary foreign workers program.
“Caregivers play a critical role in supporting Canadian families, and our programs need to reflect their invaluable contributions. As we work to implement a permanent caregivers program, these two new pilots will not only improve support for caregivers, but also provide families with the quality care they deserve,” said the IRC minister.
Marc Miller is Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Photo by Government of Canada.
As the old Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot come to a close later this month, the new pilots will allow caregivers to continue to come to Canada, as the government works toward making the caregiver pilot programs permanent.
Aside from providing caregivers permanent residence (PR) on arrival in Canada, the new pilots will also allow caregivers to work for organizations that provide temporary or part-time care for people who are semi-independent or recovering from an injury or illness. This new pathway means that caregivers can more easily find proper work with reliable employers and have clear, straightforward access to permanent resident status as soon as they arrive in Canada.
Through these new pilot programs, candidates interested in working in Canada’s home care sector will be eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:
- attain a minimum of level 4 based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
- hold the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma
- have recent and relevant work experience
- receive an offer for a full-time home care job
These new pilot programs mark an important step forward in Canada’s efforts to meet the evolving home care needs of its diverse population.
By lowering the education requirement from Canadian equivalency of one year post-secondary education to high school equivalency and the Canadian language benchmarks down from level 5 to level 4, thousands of caregivers who are currently in Canadawill be qualified to apply for PR.
More information will be available before the full launch of the pilots next month, including full eligibility criteria and details on how to apply.
Editor of Canadian Filipino Net
Eleanor R. Laquian has written four best-selling books, and co-authored four others with husband Prod Laquian. She has served in various capacities at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research as manager of administration and programs; editor and chair, publications committee; and primary researcher of the Asian Immigration to Canada project. She has a degree in journalism from Maryknoll College in the Philippines, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines. She did postgraduate studies at the School of Public Communications, Boston University in the U.S.
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