Canada has permanent residence programs for live-in caregivers
Canada has a large elderly population, with more than 9.1 million Canadians being over the age of 65. Many of those Canadians face troubles such as mobility issues, memory problems, or other factors that make living alone very difficult. For many elderly Canadians, live-in caregivers are needed to provide them with the necessary assistance. What’s more, there are plenty of families that need the aid of these skilled caregivers to help them care for their children. There is a high demand for live-in caregivers across the country.
For live-in caregivers currently working in Canada, or for those with these skills who may be wanting to come to Canada, there are new ways of getting permanent residence. The Canadian government has launched two live-in caregiver pilot programs: the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or the Home Support Worker Pilot. Both of these new programs are aimed at recruiting skilled foreign workers and helping them gain permanent residence in Canada.
Qualifications for New Pilot Programs
These programs have similar criteria for potential applicants. Both require applicants to have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) scores of 5 or more, either in English or French. They must also have one year of education from a Canadian post-secondary school or from a foreign school equivalent. Finally, both programs require applicants to be admissible to Canada. The occupations have the National Occupational Classification (NOC) numbers of 4411 for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and 4412 for the Home Support Worker Pilot. However, the programs exclude those with experience only as foster parents or housekeepers.
After gaining two years of experience as either a childcare provider or home support worker, skilled workers can apply for permanent residence through their respective pilot program. Each of these programs accepts 2,750 applicants yearly, in addition to the applicants’ families. That makes for a total of 5,500 positions open for live-in caregivers to gain Canadian permanent residence.
