Who can apply

If you have less than 12 months of qualifying work experience, you can apply for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or the Home Support Worker Pilot as long as you meet the other eligibility requirements.

If you have 12 months of experience or more

If you have 12 months of experience or more, you can apply to the Direct to permanent residence category instead.

Eligibility

You may be eligible to apply for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot, if you

If you're currently working in Canada but don't meet the requirements

If you’re working in Canada as a caregiver but you don’t meet the requirements for either pilot, you may be eligible to extend your work permit.

Your employer will have to complete some steps before you can apply to extend your work permit.

Genuine and valid job offer

To get or finish getting the work experience you need for permanent residence through the Home Child Care Provider or Home Support Worker Pilot, you need a genuine and valid job offer. The job you’re offered must be

We’ll also review the salary on your job offer. You must show that you’ll be able to support yourself and your family members financially while working as caregiver in Canada.

The job you’re offered must be in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) job that matches the pilot you apply for:

Home child care provider (NOC 44100)

  • You must care for children in your own home or in your employer’s private home.
    • The location can’t be an institutional setting such as a daycare.
  • You don’t need to live in your employer’s home to qualify.
  • Experience as a foster parent doesn’t count.

Home support worker (NOC 44101)

  • You must care for someone who needs help from a home support worker in your employer’s private home.
    • The location can’t be an institutional setting such as a nursing home.
  • You don’t need to live in your employer’s home to qualify.

Your qualifying work experience must be in 1 of these jobs. It cannot be a mix of both jobs. If you already have some experience as a caregiver in Canada, make sure the job you’re offered matches the work experience you already have.

If you applied before November 2022

On November 16, 2022, we switched to the 2021 version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC).

If you submitted an application before November 16, 2022, your job offer or qualifying work experience will still be assessed as per the NOC 2016 requirements.

  • Home child care provider – NOC 4411 was replaced with NOC 44100
  • Home support worker – NOC 4412 was replaced with NOC 44101

Ability to do the work

We use any past experience or training you have to decide if you’re able to do the work described in the NOC job description (lead statement).

Language levels

You need to take a language test to prove you meet the minimum language skills.

To measure your English or French skills, we use:

The minimum language skill is CLB 5 in English or NLCL 5 in French for all 4 language skills:

  • writing
  • reading
  • listening
  • speaking

Education

You must have a completed post-secondary education credential of at least 1 year in Canada. If you don’t have a Canadian education credential, you need to get your foreign education credential assessed to show that it’s equal to a completed Canadian post-secondary education credential of at least 1 year.

Live-in arrangements

Employers can’t require you to live in their home.

You and your employer may decide that a live-in arrangement is appropriate to meet the needs of the person(s) getting care or at your request. Living conditions must meet or surpass provincial or territorial employment standards. This may include that:

  • the bedroom
    • is in the home of the person receiving care
    • is private and furnished
    • has finished floors, ceilings and walls
    • includes a bed with a mattress and bedding (sheets, pillows and blankets)
    • includes lighting and heating
    • includes a closet
    • has a door that can be locked from the outside (and you have a key)
    • has a door that can be locked with a safety bolt from the inside
    • includes a secure exterior window that closes and locks from the inside
    • meets both the municipal building requirements and provincial or territorial health standards
  • there is an agreement about whether you will be charged for room or board

Your working hours must meet the requirements under provincial and territorial employment law, whether you live in

  • your own home, or
  • your employer’s private home.

Page details

Date modified: