Interim Pathway for Caregivers: Who can apply

The Interim Pathway for Caregivers ended on October 8, 2019. If you submitted an application before or on October 8, we’ll continue to process it.

If you need to send us your language test results or educational credential assessment, follow the instructions in the guide.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, you must have the required:

You must also plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

When you apply, you must:

You aren’t eligible for the Interim Pathway for Caregivers if:

your application to extend your work permit is refused
your application to restore your status as a worker is refused
your current work permit is in the Live-in Caregiver Program, or
you’re applying to extend your work permit or restore your status and your most recent work permit was under the Live-in Caregiver Program

To be eligible, your qualifying work experience must have been gained while working in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. This means your employer would have needed to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment before hiring you.

Since November 30, 2014, you must have gained at least 12 months of full-time work experience in Canada as a:

For this work experience:

full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week
you can have breaks in employment (for example, periods where you weren’t working, on sick leave or parental leave)
any work experience you had while you were a full-time student doesn’t count

In your application, you’ll have to include documents to show proof of your work experience

Your work must match the description of a home child care provider
You must have cared for children under the age of 18, in your own home or in your employer’s home
- You don’t need to have lived in your employer’s home to qualify
Experience as a foster parent doesn’t count

Your work must match the description of a home support worker
Only home support workers are eligible under 4412
- Experience as a housekeeper doesn’t count

You need to take a language test to prove you meet the minimum language skills that are required.
To measure your English or French levels, we use:

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

You must have a Canadian high school diploma or a non-Canadian educational diploma, certificate or credential that’s equal to a Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma.