On February 25, 2019 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) announced a one-time, short-term public policy for in-Canada caregivers to provide a pathway to permanent residence for caregivers who do not qualify under the 2014 Ministerial Instructions Establishing the Caring for Children Class and the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Class.
This is a 3-month interim pathway, with no cap on volumes.
To be eligible, caregivers have to meet all the following conditions:
- At the time of application, they are authorized to work in Canada on a work permit other than a Live-in Caregiver Program work permit;
- They intend to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec;
- Since November 30, 2014, they have acquired at least 1 year of full-time Canadian work experience in an eligible caregiver occupation. These occupations are National Occupational Classification (“NOC”) 4411 – Home Childcare Providers and NOC 4412 – Home Support Workers and Related Occupations (other than Housekeeper);
- They meet the minimum education requirement; and
- They meet the minimum language proficiency requirement.
Experience
Only home child care providers are eligible under NOC 4411. Applicants with work experience under NOC 4411 must have provided in-home care to children under the age of 18 in their own home or in the employer’s or child’s home. Foster parents are not eligible to apply under this class.
Among the sub-occupations under NOC 4412, housekeepers and related occupations are not eligible to apply. Only home support workers and workers in related occupations are eligible under NOC 4412. The onus is on applicants to satisfy IRCC that they predominantly provided personal care and support services to seniors, persons with disabilities and convalescent clients, with any performance of routine housekeeping duties (such as laundry and dish-washing) being incidental to their primary role of providing in-home care.
Work experience does not need to be continual to qualify, but the period of 12 months of required employment cannot include any of the following:
- extended absence from Canada (including any time worked for an employer outside Canada);
- periods of unemployment;
- prolonged sickness; and
- parental leave.
However, a reasonable period of vacation time can be counted toward meeting the work experience requirement. For example, a 2-week period of paid vacation leave within a given 52-week period in which the applicant is engaged in qualifying work, whether that period of vacation was taken in Canada or outside Canada.
Language Requirements
To be eligible for the Interim Pathway for Caregivers, applicants must show that they have obtained Canadian Language Benchmark 5 in reading, speaking, listening and writing.
When applying applicants can meet the language requirement by providing:
- the results of the principal applicant’s designated language proficiency test, which must be less than 2 years old on the date the application is received; or
- proof from an approved testing agency that the principal applicant has made an appointment to take a language test, including the date of the test and, if available, a copy of the receipt of payment.
Education
The education requirements of the Interim Pathway for Caregivers are that applicants must have obtained:
- a completed Canadian educational credential of at least a secondary school diploma; or,
- a foreign diploma, certificate or credential, along with an equivalency assessment — issued within five years before the date of application— that indicates that the foreign diploma, certificate or credential is equivalent to a completed Canadian secondary school diploma.
Applicants who are unable to obtain an educational equivalency assessment before the Interim Pathway for Caregivers closes may provide a foreign diploma, certificate or credential, along with proof that they applied for an equivalency assessment before the Interim Pathway for Caregivers closed. Proof includes written confirmation from the agency that they submitted a request for an equivalency assessment, receipt of payment or both.
More information about the Interim Pathway for Caregivers can be found here.