More information about the next Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (HCWP), including lowered eligibility requirements for candidates in terms of language, job experience, and education, has been issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

There are two upcoming immigration options for foreign home care workers to get employment and obtain permanent residency (PR) upon arrival in Canada that are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA): the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots. Their scheduled launch date is March 31, 2025.

The HCWP will only accept applications from people who are currently in Canada, the immigration department explained. Applications from applicants outside of Canada will be accepted at a later time.

Additional information on these paths was also supplied by the IRCC and will be discussed in this article.

1. Guidelines for applicants to the (now closed) Home Child Care Worker and Home Support Worker Pilots;
2. Which streams are part of the HCWP;
3. Eligibility standards for work experience, language scores, and job offers;
4. HCWP eligibility for out-of-status workers in Canada.

There are two avenues via which foreign nationals can apply for the new HCWP:

1. The stream of workers in Canada;

2. The stream of applicants who are not employed in Canada.

Only the Workers in Canada stream will take new applications when it opens at the end of March. Later in the year, the application intake for the applicants who are not employed in Canada will open.

In advance of the HCWP’s opening date in March, the IRCC recommends that prospective applicants to the Workers in Canada stream complete an approved language exam and have their educational background evaluated by an Education Credential Assessment (ECA).

Information about the application process for applicants who are not employed in Canada has not been made public by the immigration department. When more information becomes available, the IRCC will post it.

Conditions of the job offer:

Foreign nationals who apply to the HCWP may already have a job offer from one of the following companies:

1. Home health care service providers;

2. Home care support service providers;

3. Direct care agencies;

4. Residential personal care services; or

5. Pediatric home health care service providers.

Offers of employment from placement and recruitment firms are not accepted.

Keep in mind that employment offers do not need an LMIA to be supported.

Additional eligibility for previous applicants and out-of-status workers:

The IRCC has made home care workers in Canada who do not currently have status eligible for the HCWP. Because of a public policy, some people might still be able to apply under the HCWP. This cohort has a limited number of slots available.

Additionally, some applicants who were previously enrolled in the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilots—prior immigration procedures for home care workers that were ended in June 2024—may still be eligible to apply under the former pathways.

Who is eligible for the HCWP?IRCC has announced the following eligibility criteria for the HCWP:

In order to be eligible, candidates had to construct an Express Entry candidate profile by 4:41 PM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on February 10, 2025, and have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 428.

After two Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws and a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) earlier in February, today’s draw, which is the fourth of the month, comes next. In February alone, the IRCC issued 11,601 ITAs.

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As IRCC aims to reach its landings objective for 2025–2026, draws in 2025 have so far mostly targeted CEC and PNP applicants. Specifically, the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan’s “In-Canada Focus” category facilitates the immigrant landings* of both CEC and PNP candidates. A total of 82,890 admissions are allotted to this group in 2025.

4,000 ITAs were distributed by the government to applicants in a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw.

Candidates had to construct an Express Entry candidate profile by November 14, 2024, at the latest, and have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 521 in order to be eligible for this draw.

Following a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw on February 4 that welcomed 455 candidates in upgraded PNP programs, today’s draw is the second of the week.

5,821 ITAs were sent out by the IRCC in January to applicants for the upgraded PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) programs.

Summary of Express Entry draws in 2025

Date Draw Type Number of ITAs Cut-off CRS score
February 5 Canadian Experience Class 4,000 521
February 4 Provincial Nominee Program 455 802
January 23 Canadian Experience Class 4,000 527
January 8 Canadian Experience Class 1,350 542
January 7 Provincial Nominee Program 471 793

Candidates under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) were given a total of 4,000 ITAs.

In order to receive an invitation, applicants had to submit their Express Entry profile by 7:06:43 am Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on July 23, 2024, and have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 527.

The draw today comes after the January 7 Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and January 8 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws. As stated under the “In-Canada Focus” allocation of the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, the IRCC has stated its intention to hold future draws for these individuals. Under this allocation, the immigration government has set aside 82,890 new arrivals to Canada in 2025.

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