Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has officially discontinued the permanent residence application route for caregivers residing outside the country under the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP).
Initially, the HCWP was introduced with two distinct streams: Home Support and Child Care, both anticipated to offer pathways for foreign-based workers.
Although early communications promised forthcoming details for international applicants, the program never opened for overseas intake and has now been permanently terminated.
Other Immigration Options for Caregivers Abroad
Despite the closure of the HCWP for foreign caregivers, there remain viable immigration avenues for caregivers outside Canada in 2025.
Express Entry Program
Individuals classified under National Occupation Classification (NOC) 33102-which includes nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates-continue to qualify for Express Entry. They can participate in targeted draws within the Healthcare and Social Services category.
The latest Express Entry draw for healthcare professionals required candidates to have a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 470 to be eligible.
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)
Several provinces still welcome caregiver applications through their provincial nomination streams, such as:
- Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) – Skilled Worker Overseas stream
- Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) – Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream
- New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) – Priority Occupations stream
- Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) – Skilled Worker category
It is important to note that the NBPNP Priority Occupations stream accepts only NOC codes 33102, 44101, and 42202. Notably, NOC 44100 (Home Child Care Providers) is excluded from this stream.
Reasons Behind IRCC’s Closure of the Program
While IRCC has not publicly detailed the rationale for shutting down the overseas caregiver pathway, data indicates the move is linked to a significant backlog of pending applications.
As of September 11, 2025, IRCC reported a total of 34,400 applications under caregiver pilot programs, including legacy initiatives like the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot.
The department plans to process only about 14% of these applications (approximately 4,816) within the current year. Between January 1 and September 11, 2025, Canada admitted 4,200 new permanent residents through these caregiver pilots, leaving capacity for roughly 600 additional admissions by year-end.
This figure is considerably lower than the originally projected 2,750 permanent residents expected under the HCWP’s in-Canada stream.
In total, Canada has capped permanent resident admissions at 10,920 for 2025 across all federal economic pilot programs, which include the Agri-Food Pilot, Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, Start-up Visa Program, and Caregiver Pilots.
Another contributing factor to the closure appears to be IRCC’s strategic focus on converting temporary residents already in Canada to permanent status.
This approach aligns with recent Express Entry draws that prioritize candidates under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and federal directives requiring provinces to allocate 75% of their nominations to applicants currently residing in Canada.
