Home Child-Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot: Assessing the application against selection criteria

Applicants should be assessed against the pass and fail selection criteria below, based on the information and documents provided in the application. Applicants must meet the following criteria to be approved:

• education
• official language proficiency

In addition, applicants must provide proof of either of the following:

• at least 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience
• a job offer and the ability to perform the work

Education

The applicant must provide evidence that they have either of the following completed items:

• Canadian one-year post-secondary (or higher) educational credential
• foreign educational credential and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report issued by an organization designated by IRCC

Foreign credentials

For applicants with a foreign educational credential, the ECA report must

• indicate that the credential is equivalent to a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary (or higher) educational credential
• be less than 5 years old on the date of application receipt
• have been issued on or after the date the ECA organization was designated by IRCC

The assessment outcome stated in the ECA report is conclusive evidence that an applicant’s completed foreign educational credentials are equivalent to at least a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary educational credential.

Equivalency assessments will include an assessment by the designated organization of the authenticity of the applicant’s completed foreign educational credentials.

Qualifying Canadian work experience

The applicant will be assessed for qualifying Canadian work experience once they have submitted proof of this requirement. The assessment will take place either upfront in their initial permanent resident application or after the issuing of an occupation-restricted open work permit through one of these pilots.

Applicants without 24 months of experience

Applicants who are otherwise eligible but who lack the 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience at the time of their application for permanent residence will receive an occupation-specific open work permit. Within 36 months of the issuing of the occupation-specific open work permit, the applicant must demonstrate that they have obtained at least 24 months of authorized full-time work experience. Any qualifying work experience claimed must have been obtained within 36 months of the issuing of the occupation-specific open work permit was issued.

Note: Some applicants may have some, but less than 24 months, of the qualifying Canadian work experience when they receive an occupation-specific open work permit. They can count this experience toward the 24-month requirement, as long as they demonstrate that the 24 months of experience was acquired in the 36 months prior to submission of their proof of work experience.

Applicants with 24 months of experience

For applicants with at least 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience at the time of application, they will submit their proof of qualifying work experience upfront in their application for permanent residence. The applicant must demonstrate that they have obtained a total of at least 24 months of authorized full-time work experience in Canada, in the 36 months preceding the time of application.

Qualifying work

Full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week. To qualify, an applicant must have obtained work experience in an eligible occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification (NOC):

• Home Child-Care Provider Pilot applicants must have qualifying work experience as Home Child-Care Providers (NOC 4411). Applicants must have provided in-home care to children under the age of 18, whether in their own home or in the employer’s or child’s home.
  • Note: Foster parents are not eligible to apply under the Home Child-Care Provider Pilot.
• Home Support Worker Pilot applicants must have qualifying work experience as Home Support Workers and related occupations (NOC 4412).
  • Note: Among the sub-occupations under NOC 4412, housekeepers and related occupations are not eligible to apply under the home support worker class. The onus is on the applicant to satisfy the officer that they predominantly provided personal care and support services as per the main duties described in the NOC occupational description, with any performance of routine housekeeping duties such as laundry, washing dishes, etc., being incidental to their primary role providing in-home care.

For the periods of work experience claimed in the application, all applicants must demonstrate they performed both of the following:

• the actions identified in the initial lead statement of the NOC description
• a substantial number of the main duties, including all the essential duties, listed in the NOC description
  • Note: This means the applicant performed some or all of the main duties, including all the duties that distinguish a particular occupation from any other. Duties that begin with “may” in the NOC description are not usually considered to be essential duties.

Breaks in work experience

Applicants do not have to be employed at the time they apply for permanent residence through the Home Child-Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot.

Canadian work experience does not need to be continuous to qualify, but the period of 24 months of required employment does not include

• any extended absence from Canada (including any time worked for an employer outside Canada)
• periods of unemployment
• prolonged sickness
• parental leave

A reasonable period of vacation time will be counted towards 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 was engaged in qualifying work would qualify, whether that period of vacation was taken in Canada or outside Canada.

Any periods of self-employment or periods of employment during which the applicant was engaged in full-time study will not be included when calculating the period of qualifying work experience.

All applicants must have had temporary resident status during the period of work experience acquired in Canada. Only authorized work will be counted towards the work experience requirement. The authorized work experience may be acquired under any combination of authorized work permits.

Applicants without 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience

Applicants who do not have at least 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience must also provide proof of both of the following:

• a job offer
• the ability to perform the work

Job offer

Where applicants do not have 24 months of eligible Canadian work experience at the time of their initial application for permanent residence, they must demonstrate that they have obtained a job offer that is

• from a single Canadian employer
  • The employer cannot be an embassy, high commission or consulate in Canada.
  • The employer can comprise more than one individual (for example, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), but must constitute one simple employer (that is, one single CRA business number).
• for a position outside the province of Quebec
• for full-time employment (full time means at least 30 hours of paid work per week)
• non-seasonal
• in a home child-care provider or home support worker occupation
• genuine and likely to be valid when the applicant is issued the initial occupation-specific open work permit

The job offer must also describe the work and duties to be performed by the applicant. These duties must align with the actions described in the lead statement for the eligible occupation, as set out in the occupational descriptions of the NOC.

Note: The main duties of job offer cannot be for foster parent or housekeeper occupations.

Assessing whether a job offer is genuine

Proof that a job offer is valid and genuine may include but is not limited to

• a genuine need for a caregiver (for example, proof of a school-age child or a person with medical needs in the home)
• the fact that the wage specified in the job offer is aligned with the prevailing wage in the province where the work will be carried out
• the fact that the employer has the financial ability to pay the wages specified in the job offer
• in the case of a live-in arrangement, the fact that reasonable accommodations are provided (for example, a private room)

To assess the validity of the job offer, officers can request further information from the employer and use information provided on the job offer. For example, officers can assess whether the employer is financially able to pay the caregiver the salary described in the job offer or if there is a genuine need for a caregiver by examining

• financial information provided by the employer
• the caregiver’s salary
• the household composition declared in the job offer

Ability to perform the work

Applicants who have not obtained at least 24 months of qualifying Canadian work experience must demonstrate that they are able to perform the work described in the lead statement of the occupational description of the NOC.

• NOC 4411 if applying for the Home Child-Care Provider Pilot
• NOC 4412 if applying the Home Support Worker Pilot

Failure to do so may result in a refusal.

Supporting documentation

When assessing an applicant’s ability to perform the work, officers can refer to supporting documentation provided in the application. This may include, but is not limited to

• proof of relevant previous work experience (either paid or unpaid), for example:
  • employer reference letters
  • employment records
  • work contracts
  • pay stubs
• copies of relevant education credentials or training, which can include diplomas or certificates
• a copy of the applicant’s most recent work permit in Canada (if they’ve been working in Canada)

When an officer has serious concerns regarding an applicant’s ability to perform the work, the officer must follow procedural fairness.

Note: Applicants who are applying with less than 24 months of qualifying work experience and have met the eligibility requirements relating to education, language, job offer and ability to perform the work must be assessed for admissibility before being issued an occupation-specific open work permit and being assessed for qualifying work experience.