If you are a caregiver, you have a chance to become a Canadian permanent resident and gain Canadian citizenship. The Government of Canada has introduced many programs to allow caregivers immigrating to Canada to gain permanent residence in Canada. Find out with this article if you are qualified to apply through these programs and settle in Canada.
Permanent Residence for Caregivers
The Home Support Worker Pilot as well as the Home Child Care Provider Pilot, have started accepting applications for permanent residency in Canada from immigrants on 18 June 2019. To be eligible to apply through these programs, you need to satisfy the below-given conditions.
- You must satisfy the eligibility criteria for this program set by the Immigrants Refugees Citizenship Canada.
- You must have a valid genuine job offer from an eligible employer living in Canada.
You can get an occupation-specific work permit through these program streams. This permit will let you work as a temporary foreign worker in a Canadian Province. The work permit is occupation-specific in the sense that you can only work in a specific occupation through this permit. However, for this, you do not need a Labor Market Impact Assessment. With this visa, you can work till obtaining the Canadian work experience needed to apply for permanent resident status in Canada.
However, if you have the required work experience as a home child care provider or previously worked as a support worker, you can directly apply for Canadian permanent residency.
Live-in Caregiver Program.
This Program (LCP) is not taking any submissions of applications right now. However, if you have at least two years of qualifying work experience through this program, you can apply for Canadian permanent residence. It’s important for you to satisfy the below-given set of criteria.
- You must be working in Canada under an LCP work permit.
- You gained approval for your LCP work permit because of your Labor Market Impact Assessment.
- Your Labor Market Impact Assessment should have been sent to Employment and Social Development Canada before the 30th of November in 2014.
If you have qualifying Canadian work experience as a caregiver but do not meet the eligibility criteria for this program, you can qualify to immigrate to Canada through some other program about which you must ask immigration consultants.
Temporary work for caregivers.
You can apply to work as a caregiver in a Canadian Province on a temporary basis if you are not eligible to apply for permanent residency in Canada through this program.
Applying for an extension of your work permit.
If you already work in Canada as an in-house helper and wish for an extension of your work visa, you can do so with the help of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). For this, you will need to get a positive Labor Market Impact Assessment from your current employer in Canada.
Applying for a new work permit
If any of the following is true for you, your application form for a new work visa through this program to work as an in-house care provider will not be processed.
- If you are sending your application form for processing from outside Canada.
- If your application is submitted through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
- If you are currently employed outside Canada.
- If your employer has applied for a Labor Market Impact Assessment but after 18 June 2019.
However, you can apply for a work permit to live in Canada as a temporary foreign worker which would be covered under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. To be eligible for that, you need to satisfy the following conditions.
- If you are currently residing in Canada.
- If you are qualified to apply for a visa from inside Canada.
- If you reside outside Canada but your employer applied for a Labor Market Impact Assessment before 18 June 2019.
- If you are very keen to work outside Quebec.
Closed programs
The following programs are no longer accepting new applications from those immigrating to Canada as caregivers.
Program 1: Caring for Children.
The Caring for Children Program was closed on the 18th of June in 2019 by the Canadian government. However, if your application was completed and submitted before June 18, it will continue to be processed by the authorities. If you have previously worked in caring for children inside Canada, you may be qualified for the status of permanent residence under the Home Child Care Provider Pilot.
Program 2: People with ‘High Medical Needs’ Care.
The caring for People with High Medical Needs Program was terminated by the federal government of Canada on the 18th of June in 2019. However, if your application was completed and submitted before June 18, it will continue to be processed by the authorities. If you have experience as a caregiver and home support provider, you may qualify for Canada PR under the Home Support Worker Pilot.
Program 3: Interim Pathway for Caregivers
The Interim Pathway for Caregivers was closed to new applications by the government of Canada on the 8th of October in 2019. However, if your application was completed and submitted before that, it will continue to be processed by the authorities.
The Canadian government has also introduced other programs such as the Express Entry Program and the Provincial Nominee Programs to help those immigrating to Canada become permanent residents of Canada, gain permanent resident status and become Canadian citizens. Special programs are also available for Canadian immigrants who are international students, foreign workers, temporary residents, and skilled workers under the Provincial Nominee Program.
So do not delay any longer. Find out from your Immigration consultant if you are eligible for permanent residence in Canada and Canadian citizenship according to the Canadian Immigration Law, and grab the chance to immigrate to Canada today!