Canada’s has formally ceased its permanent residency (PR) pathway for foreign nationals through its flagship Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP).
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed the permanent closure of the pathway intended for caregivers applying from outside the country, ending a long period of uncertainty for prospective applicants.
The HCWP, which launched with separate options for Home Support and Child Care, was initially presented as including streams for workers abroad. However, despite early assurances, the international intake component never opened for applications and has now been officially discontinued.
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Backlog blamed for sudden closure
While IRCC has not provided a formal explanation for the decision, available data strongly suggests the closure is a direct result of the immense backlog in caregiver applications.
As of September 11, 2025, IRCC’s inventory of caregiver applications, which includes both the current and older pilot programs, stood at a staggering 34,400.
The department has stated its intention to process only 14 per cent of this figure, equating to 4,816 applications by the end of the year.
With Canada having already admitted 4,200 new permanent residents under caregiver pilots between January 1 and September 11, 2025, only approximately 600 spaces remain for the rest of the year.
This allocation falls significantly short of the 2,750 new permanent residents originally planned for the in-Canada stream of the HCWP alone.
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The closure therefore aligns with a broader governmental policy shift to prioritise the transition of temporary residents already within Canada to permanent status.
This strategy is reflected in recent category-based Express Entry draws favouring the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and federal instructions requiring provinces to dedicate 75 per cent of their nomination allocations to candidates already residing domestically.
Alternative immigration options remain
Despite the end of the international HCWP stream, foreign caregivers still retain several avenues to immigrate. They are:
Express entry: Workers whose roles fall under National Occupational Classification (NOC) 33102 (nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates) remain eligible to apply through the federal Express Entry system.
They may benefit from the popular category-based selection draws for healthcare and social services roles, although it is highly competitive.
The most recent healthcare-specific draw required applicants to achieve a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 470.
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Provincial Nominee Programmes (PNPs): Several provincial governments continue to actively invite caregivers through their respective nomination streams. These include:
Manitoba: Skilled worker overseas stream.
Ontario: Employer job offer: Foreign worker stream (through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program).
New Brunswick: Priority occupations stream
Newfoundland and Labrador: Skilled Worker category.
Canada has set an overall limit of 10,920 permanent residents for 2025 across all economic federal pilots, a number that encompasses the Caregiver Pilots alongside programmes such as the Agri-Food Pilot and Start-up Visa Program.
