Key Takeaways
- Canada launched new caregiver immigration pilots on March 31, 2025, offering permanent residency on arrival for eligible caregivers, with no Canadian work experience required first.
- Two streams exist: one for home child care providers (NOC 44100) and one for home support workers (NOC 44101). Both require a full-time job offer, CLB 4 language ability, and a Canadian high school equivalent education.
- The pilots are LMIA-exempt, meaning your employer does not need to go through the Labour Market Impact Assessment process.
- Applications are capped at 2,350 online submissions for the 2025 intake cycle. Timing matters.
- Filipino caregivers applying from abroad must work through an employer accredited with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW, formerly POEA) and complete pre-departure requirements before travelling.
If you are a caregiver looking to build a permanent life in Canada, the pathway has changed significantly in the past year. Canada has long depended on international caregivers to support families with young children and elderly or disabled adults, and the immigration system has been updated to reflect how essential that work is. The landscape for 2025 and 2026 looks different from what it did before, and for most applicants, it is meaningfully better. This guide covers what the current programs actually require and what the path to permanent residency looks like now.
What Changed and Why It Matters
The previous caregiver pilot programs, the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot, closed on June 17, 2024. Those programs required caregivers to first work in Canada for 24 months before applying for permanent residency.
The new Home Care Worker Pilots, launched March 31, 2025, work differently. Eligible applicants receive permanent residence on arrival, meaning you land in Canada as a permanent resident rather than going through a temporary work period first. The policy change was designed to reduce exploitation of caregivers who previously had no status security during their two-year work requirement.
The pilots do not apply in Quebec, which manages its own immigration selection separately.
The Two Pilot Streams
Both streams share similar requirements, but they apply to different types of work.
| Home Child Care Provider | Home Support Worker | |
| Home Child Care Provider | Home Support Worker | |
| NOC Code | 44100 | 44101 |
| Type of work | Childcare in a private home | Care for elderly or disabled adults |
| Language requirement | CLB Level 4 | CLB Level 4 |
| Education | Canadian high school equivalent | Canadian high school equivalent |
| Job offer required | Yes, full-time | Yes, full-time |
| Work experience | Recent relevant caregiving experience | Recent relevant caregiving experience |
| PR on arrival | Yes | Yes |
| LMIA required | No | No |
| Quebec eligible | No | No |
Your employer must be a private household or a registered home care organization. Recruitment agencies and staffing companies are not eligible employers under these pilots.
Language and Education Requirements
Both streams require a minimum CLB Level 4 in English or French. This is equivalent to a basic working proficiency; you should be able to communicate clearly with the family or individual you are caring for, and follow written instructions.
Accepted language tests include IELTS and CELPIP for English, or TEF Canada for French, with minimum scores mapped to CLB 4. You will need official test results as part of your application.
The education requirement is a completed secondary school education equivalent to a Canadian high school diploma. If your credentials are from another country, you may need an Educational Credential Assessment to confirm equivalency.
Salary Expectations by Province
Caregiver wages in Canada vary by province and by the type of care provided. The following figures reflect median hourly wages for home support workers (NOC 44101), based on Job Bank wage data:
| Province | Median Hourly Wage |
| British Columbia | $24.50 |
| Ontario | $22.00 |
| Alberta | $20.00 |
| Nova Scotia | $19.00 |
| Manitoba | $17.75 |
| Canada (national median) | $20.50 |
Wages for home child care providers tend to be similar, though they vary by the specific arrangement and whether the role includes live-in accommodation. Salary is not a standalone eligibility criterion for the pilot, but your job offer must be for full-time work.
How to Find a Qualifying Employer
Since the pilots are LMIA-exempt, you do not need an employer who has gone through the Labour Market Impact Assessment process. What you need is an employer who is willing to offer a full-time permanent position and support your immigration application.
Practical ways to find caregiver work in Canada:
- Government of Canada Job Bank: Search for caregiver roles and filter by province. The Job Bank allows you to contact employers directly.
- Provincial caregiver registries: Some provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia, maintain registries of regulated home care providers. Families and organizations that hire through these registries are generally familiar with immigration requirements.
- Community and diaspora networks: Many caregivers, particularly those from the Philippines, find positions through community connections. Established diaspora networks often have informal job boards and referrals.
- Licensed recruitment agencies: If you are applying from outside Canada, working with a licensed agency in your home country and Canada can help facilitate the employer match and documentation process.
Avoid any arrangement where an employer or agent asks you to pay fees in exchange for a job offer or immigration help. This is illegal in Canada. Our POEA jobs guide covers what accredited recruitment looks like for Filipino applicants specifically.
How This Replaced the Old Live-in Caregiver Program
The original Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), which ran until 2014, required caregivers to live in their employer’s home as a condition of their work permit. This arrangement created significant vulnerability, as caregivers depended entirely on a single employer for both their income and their immigration status.
The programs introduced in 2019 removed the live-in requirement and allowed caregivers to work for multiple employers. The 2025/2026 pilots go further by removing the temporary work stage entirely. A caregiver who meets the eligibility criteria no longer needs to spend two years in temporary status before applying for PR. They arrive with that status already confirmed.
For anyone who worked under the old Live-in Caregiver Program and still has an open application, separate processing applies. The IRCC website maintains a dedicated section for legacy LCP applicants.
Information for Filipino Caregivers
The Philippines has long been one of the primary source countries for Canada’s caregiver workforce. If you are applying from the Philippines, you need to meet both IRCC’s requirements and those of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), which replaced the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration).
DMW accreditation: Canadian employers who want to hire directly from the Philippines must be accredited with the DMW. Your employer should have a valid accreditation or be working through a licensed recruitment agency that holds one.
Required documents before departure:
- Verified Employment Contract (authenticated by both Canadian and Philippine authorities)
- Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), issued by the DMW
- Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) certificate. This seminar covers your rights, the laws in Canada, and what to do if you encounter problems with your employer
Licensed recruitment agencies: Direct hiring from the Philippines is restricted for most situations. Your employer will typically need to work through a DMW-licensed Canadian recruitment agency, or apply for an exemption. Using an unlicensed agency or paying placement fees to any party is prohibited and a warning sign of fraud.
The Filipino caregivers page on this site has additional context on the POEA-to-DMW transition and what the accreditation process looks like from the employer’s side.
Application Caps and Timing
The 2025 intake cycle accepted 2,350 online applications and 260 alternate-format applications across both pilot streams. If the 2026 intake follows a similar structure, demand will likely exceed supply quickly.
If you are working toward applying, gather your documents (language test results, education credentials, and a confirmed job offer) before the intake window opens. Applications submitted after the cap is reached are returned without processing.
What Comes Next
If you meet the eligibility criteria and have a job offer in hand, the next step is preparing a complete application package. A missing document or an unsigned form is enough to delay or invalidate your submission.
For caregivers navigating this process from outside Canada, consulting a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or an immigration lawyer before applying is worth the investment. The pilots represent a genuine opportunity for a direct path to permanent residency, and the cost of a professional review is far less than the cost of a rejected application and having to reapply in the next intake cycle.
Canada needs caregivers, and the new pilots reflect that. The path is clearer than it has been in years. What it requires now is preparation, correct documentation, and timing.