Home Child Care Provider Pilot

What is this program?

The Home Child Care Provider Pilot is one of the caregiver programs launched in June 2019 with an aim to attract foreign workers who have work experience in NOC 4411. The Pilot Home Child Care Provider is five years of pilot programs that allow skilled carers and their relatives to come to Canada with the objective of becoming permanent residents. However, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says each new pilot has a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, for a total of 5,500 principal applicants per year, plus their immediate family.

Home childcare services offer continuing and short-term care for children. They provide for children’s well-being, physical development and social development, support children’s parents and assist with household responsibilities. Caregivers usually care in their own homes or in the homes of the baby, where they can also stay. They are employed or can be self-employed by private households and childcare companies.

Only when they have an employment offer in Canada and meet common requirements for economic immigration programs will applicants apply for an initial work permit.

What does the Pilot offer?

In the current schemes, two major problems with previous pilot caregivers were modified: 

• Caregivers’ ability to change jobs; caregivers’ services have been criticized in the past because they tie carers to single parents and a workplace abuse-friendly environment. The new pilots would encourage carers to switch employers more easily.
• Family members accompanying: In prior schemes, the caregiver could not have accompanied the spouses/partners and children in the country. The new programs would require family members to accompany caregivers and to apply for open work permits and/or research licenses.

Other options for caregivers

The State also launches the Home Support Worker program, in addition to the Home Child Care Support Program. The Home Support Worker pilot addresses those with expertise in NOC 4412 instead of the NOC 4411. Such two pilots are supposed to be identical.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Job Offer

Eligible candidates will have a job offer in Canada at the time of application for a work permit.

2. Work Experience

• With a work permit, caregivers will be able to gain the two years of mandatory work experience in order to apply for permanent residence in Canada within the preceding 3 years.
• Qualifying work experience means you’ve worked full-time in Canada in 1 of these National Occupational classifications (NOC) jobs such as NOC 4411 for Home Child Care Provider.

If the applicant is applying with less than 24 months of qualifying work experience, they must provide:

• A valid full-time job offer, using the Offer of Employment Home Child-Care Provider form
• Evidence that the principal applicant is able to perform the eligible work
• One of the following:
  • a signed and completed Application for Work Permit made Outside of Canada 
  • an Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay or Remain in Canada as a Worker

If the applicant is applying with at least 24 months of qualifying work experience, they must provide:

• A properly completed program-specific schedule form (Schedule 19B, Home child-care provider and home support worker (work experience) for the principal applicant
• Evidence that the principal applicant has accumulated qualifying work experience in Canada

3. Language Requirements

Eligible candidates will meet Canadian Language Benchmark level 5.

The results of the principal applicant’s designated language proficiency test (which must be less than 2 years old on the date the application is received) must be included in the application.

4. Educational Requirements

Applicants must have this evidence to be eligible:

• A completed Canadian one-year post-secondary (or higher) educational credential
• A completed foreign one-year post-secondary (or higher) educational credential and its equivalency assessment (Educational Credential Assessment [ECA] report) (which must be less than 5 years old on the date the application is received) issued by an organization or professional body designated by IRCC

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

Home childcare providers:

• Supervise and care for children in employer’s or own residence
• Bathe, dress and feed infants and children
• Prepare formulas and change diapers for infants
• Plan, prepare and serve meals for children and may perform other housekeeping duties
• Oversee children’s activities, such as meals and rest periods, as instructed by the employer
• Maintain a safe and healthy environment in the home
• Instruct children in personal hygiene
• Tend to the emotional well-being of children and support their social development
• Discipline children according to the methods requested by the parents
• Provide age-appropriate educational training through organized activities such as games, crafts, reading and outings
• Take children to and from school and appointments
• May be required to keep records of daily activities and health information regarding each child.

Foster parents:

• Care for foster children, usually on an emergency or temporary basis, as a primary guardian under the general direction of foster parent agency
• Consult foster parent agency supervisors for advice and when problems arise
• Administer foster care programs for foster children, as directed by foster parent agency social workers.

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school may be required.
• Home child care providers, parent’s helpers, and foster parents may require completion of a training program in childcare or a related field.
• Childcare or household management experience may be required.
• Demonstrated ability to perform work is usually required.
• First aid certification and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training may be required.

More details on changes

Initial applications to the new pilots will have a 12-month processing service standard. A six-month processing standard will apply for finalizing an application after the caregiver submits proof that they have met the work experience requirement.

With the move to occupation-specific work permits under the Home Child Care and Home Support Worker pilots, employers will no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment before hiring a caregiver from overseas.

Applying From Outside Canada

Step 1: Get a Work Permit

• • Send yourself and your family applications for a permanent residence and job or research permit. 
  • Get your work permit for a permanent residence in order to obtain the working experience you need. 
  • Get your spouse or common wife and children’s work or study permits to come with you.

Step 2. Permanent Residence Finalized

• • After the completion of two years of work, submit proofs to IRCC to become a PR.

Applying From In Canada

Candidates with experience as an in-home caregiver in Canada can choose one of two options for themselves:

1. Use the 2-step process outlined above, then complete two years of experience to get permanent residence.
2. Following the completion of 2 years of work experience, keep working in Canada with current work permit and apply for permanent residence provided the general criteria are met

Necessary fees

• Processing fee for you/your spouse or partner: $550 CAD 
• Right of permanent residence fee: $490 CAD
• Dependent Child: $150 CAD
• Biometric fees: $85 CAD/person and $170 CAD for the family from 2 person

If your application fails?

An applicant shall be remitted to him/her with charges for processing applications that are incomplete or have been obtained after a total of 2 750 completed applications have been made for each class.

The incompleteness of the returned applications does not add to the intake limit. The submission is processed and sent back to the applicant for incomplete applications in a company note in the Global Case Management System. Unless the complete request is made, as described above, the case processing center will take no further action.