Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has officially closed the permanent residence pathway for caregivers outside the country under its Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP).
The HCWP, which was launched with two streams — Home Support and Child Care — was initially expected to create opportunities for applicants abroad. However, despite early assurances that more details would follow, intake for international caregivers never opened and the pathway has now been permanently discontinued.
Caregivers abroad still have limited options in 2025. Under the Express Entry system, workers in National Occupation Classification (NOC) 33102, covering nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates, remain eligible through healthcare and social services draws, with the most recent draw requiring a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 470.
Several provinces are also inviting caregivers through their Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), including Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, although restrictions apply in some streams.
IRCC has not issued a formal statement on the closure, but available data indicates the decision is linked to a growing backlog of caregiver applications.
As of September 11, 2025, the department had 34,400 applications pending under caregiver pilots, including legacy programs such as the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot. Only 14 percent of these, about 4,816 applications, are expected to be processed this year.
Between January and September 2025, Canada admitted 4,200 new permanent residents through caregiver pilots, leaving space for just 600 more by the end of the year. This falls well short of the 2,750 originally targeted under the HCWP’s in-Canada stream.
The development also reflects IRCC’s growing emphasis on transitioning temporary residents already in Canada to permanent status. Recent Express Entry draws have favoured the Canadian Experience Class, while the federal government has directed provinces to dedicate 75 percent of their nominations to candidates inside Canada. Overall, Canada has capped permanent resident admissions under all federal economic pilots, including the caregiver programs, at 10,920 for 2025.
