The Liberals have just announced two programs that will award foreign caregivers permanent residency upon arrival to Canada.
As announced by Liberal Immigration Minister Marc Miller, people in the caregiver profession won’t even need to step foot in Canada to acquire permanent resident status anymore. It will be given upon mere application.
“Caregivers play a critical role in supporting Canadian families, and our programs need to reflect their invaluable contributions,” Miller said in a statement.
“As we work to implement a permanent caregivers program, these two new pilots will not only improve support for caregivers, but also provide families with the quality care they deserve.”
Before, those in the profession, while having lower barriers to stay than other professions under the previous pilot program to expedite the process, still had to have at least 2 years of full-time work experience in Canada. Now, that’s over.
According to the new rules, caregivers merely need to have a job, meet a language requirement (the difficulty of which has been dropped from level 5 to level 4), have relevant work experience, and have the equivalent of a high school diploma.
“This new pathway means that caregivers can more easily find proper work with reliable employers and have a clear, straightforward access to permanent-resident status as soon as they arrive in Canada,” said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
IRCC says that the current goal is to bring a minimum of 15,000 foreign caregivers into Canada over the next 2 years to hit the government’s target.
The new programs will replace the old ones on June 17th.
