If you want to be a caregiver in Canada, this article will help you find all your options and solve your doubts.
Firstly, if you have experience as a caregiver in Canada or abroad, you may qualify for one of the Caregiver Programs in Canada and get your Permanent Residency. As a caregiver in Canada, you have many options to work temporarily and also, if you want, become a permanent resident.
To become a caregiver in Canada, these are the most popular programs:
- Home Child Care Provider
- Home Support Worker
Therefore, after a caregiver has a valid job offer, they receive a work permit under these two programs. Then, after completing two years of Canadian work experience, they can apply for permanent residence.
Work as a Caregiver in Canada – Benefits
A caregiver in Canada under the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot has the following benefits:
- Obtain occupation-specific work permits. As long as it is not employer-specific, it allows them to change employers fast if they need it.
- Their immediate family members can come to Canada and receive open work permits and/or study permits.
- This pilot provides a clear and understandable transition from temporary to permanent status. It ensures that candidates who meet the required work experience can quickly become permanent residents.
- Both Home Child Care and Home Support Worker pilot programs are exempt from Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
One essential advantage of the program is that it allows caregivers from abroad to bring their family members to Canada, and they can also become permanent residents.
According to IRCC, both programs will each have a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants per year. Therefore, it is a total of 5,500 principal applicants per year.
Home Child Care Provider Pilot
The Home Child Care Provider Pilot allows individuals to come to Canada to work as a caregiver and get PR status. A Child Care Provider is someone who helps busy parents watch their children and may also require to do some household tasks.
Then, an individual can do and get some of the following job titles:
- Au pair
- Babysitter
- Child caregiver in a gym or a shopping centre
- Foster parent
- Live-in child caregiver
- Nanny
- Parent’s helper
- Private home child caregiver
- Nanny
Home Support Worker Provider
As a caregiver in Canada, you can work under the Home support worker pilot. This program aims to help senior residents, individuals with disabilities and people going through rehabilitation.
Most of the time, their responsibilities may include:
- cooking meals
- feeding
- bathing
- dressings
- give medications
- housekeeping duties
This pilot is for people who are interested in jobs such as:
- Home attendant for people with disabilities
- Family caregiver
- Home support worker
- Housekeeper
- Live-in caregiver for seniors
- Personal aide
- Personal care attendant
- The home visitor (infant care)
ligibility Criteria To be a Caregiver in Canada
So, if you want to apply for any of the Caregiver programs in Canada, here are your eligibility criteria. Ensure you meet them before applying.
- Have the required work experience
- Meet the language skill
- Have the education requirement
- Be admissible to Canada
- Want to settle outside Quebec
Work experience: You should have at least two years of full-time work experience in Canada in the three years before you apply.
Work experience for a Home Child Care Provider is classified under NOC 4411. And the NOC classification for the Home Support Worker is – NOC 4412
Language Skills: To prove you meet the minimum language skills in English or French, you must take a Language test and obtain a score of CLB 5 in all the abilities.
- Writing
- Reading
- Listening
- Speaking
Education Requirement: To qualify under a caregiver program in Canada, you must have finished a post-secondary educational degree in Canada of at least one year. However, if you didn’t study in Canada, you need to get your foreign education credential assessed to prove it is equivalent to a Canadian education program.
Permanent Residence for Caregivers in Canada
Firstly, it is essential to know that as a foreign worker in Canada, you always need to keep your temporary resident status while working in the Country. If it is going to expire, you must apply to extend it before that happens.
Frequent Asked Questions- Caregiver Program Canada:
- How Does it work the occupation-restricted open work permit?
It lets you work for any employer, but only in the occupation detailed on your work permit. For instance, under the Home Child Care Provider or Home Support Worker Pilots, you must work outside Quebec as a Home child care provider – NOC 4411 or as a Home support worker – NOC 4412.
Under this program, your employer doesn’t need a Labour Market Impact Assessment to hire you.
- Is it possible to use the work experience from more than one employer to apply under a Caregiver program in Canada?
Yes, under the Home Child Care Provider Program or the Home Support Worker Program, applicants can use their work experience from more than one employer as long as it was in the same eligible occupation. Therefore,
depending on which program you apply for, your work experience must be as a Home child care provider – NOC 4411 or as a Home support worker – NOC 4412.
- Can I extend my work permit under the Caregivers’ programs?
Yes, you can do it if you have a new passport and your work permit was issued for less than 36 months because it was expiring.
- What can I do If I have a new employer?
If this is your case, you should send IRCC your new employment letter online. You can do it as long as you have already received the acknowledgement of receipt of your Permanent Residence and your open work permit is not yet issued.
