The federal government recently launched the new Interim Pathway for Caregivers designed to provide an opportunity to stay in the country permanently for those caregivers already in Canada. This program will be open from March 4, 2019 to June 4, 2019.
The announcement from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) came with two new additional initiatives aimed at replacing pilot programs expiring by end of this year. The two five-year programs, slated to be launched in June this year, are expected to assist caregivers in carving their own paths towards permanent residence in Canada with their families.
Under the new pilot programs called the Home Child Care Provider and the Home Support Worker pilot programs, applicants will be assessed for permanent residence criteria before they begin working in Canada. On receipt of a work permit plus completion of two years’ work experience in Canada, applicants and their families are provided a direct pathway towards becoming a permanent resident.
The yet to be launched pilot programs will include occupation-specific work permits with the ability to quickly change jobs when necessary and open work permits for spouses or common-law partners and study permits for dependent children in order to allow the applicant’s family to join them in Canada. Each program will have an annual cap of 2,750 principal applicants each.
Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen in a media statement said, “Caregivers provide care to families in Canada that need it, and it’s time for Canada to care for them in return. We are providing them with both the opportunity to bring their family members here and access (to) permanent residency to demonstrate our commitment.”
The new programs will replace the existing Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilot programs which were brought in by the previous Conservative government in 2014 and are set to expire later this year. Applications made under the existing pilot programs will continue to be processed in six months or less.
Rachel Ramos-Reid started writing for magazines and newspapers when she was still a junior at the University of the Philippines’ Communication degree program majoring in Journalism. She continued to write in a public relations/corporate communications capacity in various private and government offices until moving out of the country in 1997 to work as Programme Officer for the arts and culture branch of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-SPAFA) in Bangkok, Thailand. At the end of her term, Rachel found herself immigrating to Canada in the year 2000 and again searching for new beginnings. Currently she is the Executive Assistant to the North Island College’s Board of Governors in a part-time capacity.
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