New Pathways to Permanent Residence for Caregivers Announced

IRCC has announced positive changes to its immigration programs for caregivers.

Two new pilot programs will be announced shortly. One of the main changes is that a caregiver’s eligibility for permanent residence will be assessed before the work permit is issued. After two years in Canada on a work permit, the caregiver will have a direct path to permanent residence.

This is an improvement over the existing programs whereby certain caregivers arrived in Canada in good faith only to later discover that they did not qualify under any existing permanent residence category. These five-year pilots will replace the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs programs. To remedy this, IRCC has announced an Interim Pathway for Caregivers program, open from March 4, 2019 to June 4, 2019, to allow these caregivers to apply for permanent residence.

Other positive changes include issuing occupation-specific work permits (instead of employer-specific work permits) so caregivers can change employers more easily and facilitating family reunification by allowing spouses and common-law partners of caregivers to obtain an open work permit.