Health-care workers permanent residence pathway: COVID-19 program delivery – Assessing the work-related requirements

For applicants intending to reside in Quebec, the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) will assess the occupation and work experience as part of their selection decision.

All work-related requirements must be met for an applicant to be eligible under the public policy.

On this page

• Assessing the work experience requirement for applicants intending to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec
• Designated occupations
• Work-related requirement: 120 hours between March 13, 2020 and August 14, 2020
• Work-related requirement: 6 months of work experience in the designated occupations
• Spouses or common-law partners of deceased refugee claimants

Assessing the work experience requirement for applicants intending to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec

The applicant’s work experience must be in a designated occupation providing direct patient care in a health-care institution, which can be

• a hospital
• a public or private long-term care home
• a public or private assisted living facility
• an organization or agency providing home or residential health-care services to seniors and persons with disabilities in private homes

Designated occupations

The designated occupations for provinces and territories other than Quebec can be found in Annex A of the public policy:

To be eligible for this public policy under NOC 4412,

• the applicant must be engaged in providing basic personal care services and offering physical assistance directly to patients by primarily performing some or all of these duties:
  • provide care and companionship for individuals and families during periods of incapacitation, convalescence or family disruption
  • administer bedside and personal care to clients such as aid in ambulation, bathing, personal hygiene, and dressing and undressing
  • may perform routine health-related duties such as changing non-sterile dressings, assisting in the administration of medications and collecting specimens under the general direction of a home care agency supervisor or nurse
• the applicant may also perform duties listed below, in addition to the above-mentioned duties:
  • plan and prepare meals and special diets, and feed or assist in feeding clients
  • perform routine housekeeping duties such as laundry, washing dishes and making beds

Applicants must demonstrate that they are primarily engaged in activities represented in the eligible occupation and indicate their NOC codes in Schedule 1 – Health-care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway (COVID-19 pandemic) (IMM 1018).

This means that the main duties of the employee’s activities must align with the descriptions of the eligible NOC occupations.

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

• the actions identified in the initial lead statement of the NOC description
• a number of the main duties listed in the NOC description

Note: Periods of work in a designated occupation must be paid unless the applicant was doing an internship that is considered an essential part of a post‑secondary study program or vocational training program in one of the designated occupations or that was performed as part of a professional order requirement in one of the designated occupations.

IRCC will review the main duties and principal business activities indicated in Schedule 1 and supporting documents to make sure that the work experience meets the occupational classification.

Work-related requirement: 120 hours between March 13, 2020 and August 14, 2020

Applicants must have provided direct patient care in Canada in one or more designated occupations for a minimum of 120 hours (equivalent to 4 weeks full-time) between March 13, 2020 and August 14, 2020.

Periods of paid or unpaid sick leave may be counted in the 120 hours if the applicant contracted COVID-19.

Work-related requirement: 6 months of work experience in the designated occupations

Applicants must demonstrate 6 months of experience in Canada in one or more designated occupations. Periods of paid or unpaid sick leave may be counted in the 6 months of experience if the applicant contracted COVID-19.

The following paid or unpaid leave may be counted when assessing the 6-month experience requirement:

• leave due to illness or disability
• maternity or parental leave
• quarantine or isolation requirements due to COVID-19
• leave to care for family who contracted COVID-19
• leave because of a lack of child care due to COVID-19

Note: Applicants have until August 31, 2021 to obtain the experience and until October 31, 2021 to submit supporting evidence. That said, applicants who complete their work experience prior to August 31, 2021, are expected to submit evidence within 60 days of completion.

Spouses or common-law partners of deceased refugee claimants

A spouse or common-law partner of a refugee claimant who met the following conditions (eligibility requirements) is not required to demonstrate that the deceased worked the 120 hours or acquired 6 months of work experience:

• they worked in the health care sector
• they contracted COVID-19 and passed away prior to applying for permanent residence, or after applying but before being granted permanent residence
• they met the designated occupation requirements (Annex A of the public policy)
• they worked at any time between March 13 and August 14, 2020

Once the work-related experience has been assessed, an eligibility decision can be rendered. See Eligibility.