Home Child Care Provider Pilot: Is the Caregiver Path to Permanent Residence Still Open in 2026?
The Home Child Care Provider Pilot is closed. It stopped accepting new applications on June 17, 2024, and there is no way to apply to it in 2026. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's official caregivers page, IRCC still processes applications it received on or before that date, but no new caregiver can enter through this pilot today.
That distinction matters. A closed intake is not the same as a dead file: if you already applied before the deadline, your application is still moving. But if you are a caregiver looking to start a new permanent residence application in 2026, applying to a closed program wastes money and time, and it is exactly the confusion that unlicensed agents use to charge for a pathway that no longer exists. Much of the caregiver content still online describes this pilot as open. It is not.
What was the Home Child Care Provider Pilot?
The Home Child Care Provider Pilot, alongside its sister program the Home Support Worker Pilot, was a five-year pilot that let qualified caregivers and their family members come to Canada with the goal of becoming permanent residents. To qualify, you needed full-time work experience in one of two National Occupational Classification (NOC) jobs:
The two qualifying occupations
Home child care provider (NOC 44100) covered caring for children in your own home or your employer's private home. An institutional setting such as a daycare did not count, and experience as a foster parent did not count either. You did not need to live in your employer's home to qualify.
Home support worker (NOC 44101) covered caring for someone who needed help from a home support worker in your employer's private home. An institutional setting such as a nursing home did not count, and again, living in the employer's home was not required. If you are trying to work out which code applied to your duties, our guide to the personal support worker NOC code walks through the 44101 versus 33102 distinction.
The pilots ran two application categories: the gaining experience category, which let you build enough Canadian caregiver work experience to qualify for permanent residence, and the direct to permanent residence category, for caregivers who already had enough qualifying experience.
Is the Home Child Care Provider Pilot still open in 2026?
No. The official IRCC caregivers page and the dedicated program page both label the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot as closed, with June 17, 2024 as the last day applications were accepted. IRCC has confirmed it will keep processing applications submitted on or before that date, so a caregiver already in the queue does not lose their place. Everyone else is out of time for this particular pilot.
If you have a pending application from before the deadline and you were in the gaining experience category, you can still send proof once you have accumulated enough eligible work experience. There is no published, guaranteed timeline for these remaining files; processing times for immigration applications change month to month, so check the current estimate on IRCC's official processing times tool rather than relying on a number you read on a forum.
What replaced it: the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots
IRCC introduced the new Home Care Worker Immigration pilots (for Child Care and for Home Support) as the next caregiver pathway after the older pilots closed. On paper, they help skilled workers who have a full-time home care job offer, relevant experience or training, and the required language and education to immigrate permanently.
Here is the part most outdated articles miss: the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots are also currently closed. Both the permanent-residence application stream and the employer-hiring stream show as closed on the official Home Care Worker Immigration pilots page, after IRCC paused application intake in a December 19, 2025 notice. So as of this writing, neither the old Home Child Care Provider Pilot nor its replacement is open to new applicants. Our explainer on Canada's new caregiver immigration pilot covers how those pilots are designed to work once intake reopens.
The current status of Canada's caregiver PR pilots
Every dedicated caregiver-to-permanent-residence pilot IRCC has run is closed to new applications right now. This table summarizes where each program stands:
Caregiver program | Current status | Last day to apply |
|---|---|---|
Home Child Care Provider Pilot | Closed | June 17, 2024 |
Home Support Worker Pilot | Closed | June 17, 2024 |
Home Care Worker Immigration pilots (PR stream) | Closed (intake paused) | Intake paused Dec 19, 2025 |
Home Care Worker Immigration pilots (employer hiring) | Closed | Intake paused Dec 19, 2025 |
Live-in Caregiver Program | Closed | Closed to new applicants |
Caring for Children Pilot | Closed | June 17, 2019 |
Source: IRCC, Caregivers (home care workers). Verified August 2026.
The pilots that promised permanent residence on arrival are closed right now. Anyone telling you the Home Child Care Provider Pilot is "still accepting applications" in 2026 is either working from old information or not being straight with you.
What caregivers can do now
A closed pilot does not mean the door to Canada is bolted shut, but it does mean you should stop looking for a Home Child Care Provider Pilot application to file. In practice, the caregivers who come to Ansari Immigration in Metro Vancouver, where live-in and live-out household care is in steady demand, are usually being approached by unlicensed agents promising that the closed pilot is "about to reopen" for a fee. Treat any such promise as a red flag and verify the program status yourself on canada.ca or with a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant before you pay anyone.
Have you seen the closed Home Child Care Provider Pilot still advertised as open somewhere in 2026? Flag it in the comments so other caregivers do not get caught out, and keep it general.
If permanent residence is the goal, these are the realistic moving parts to check:
Confirm the current, official status of every caregiver pilot on IRCC's caregivers page before assuming anything you read elsewhere is current.
If you already applied before June 17, 2024, keep your file active: update IRCC if your contact details change, and send proof of experience if you were in the gaining experience category.
Look at whether you qualify for a general economic pathway, such as Express Entry or a Provincial Nominee Program stream, on your own merits rather than as a caregiver-specific applicant.
Watch for official announcements about the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots reopening, and get an eligibility read before intake opens rather than after it fills.
Because the caregiver-specific pilots are closed, many home care workers now look at broader routes to permanent residence instead. Our overview of the road to permanent residency for caregivers and our guide to the five most accessible PR pathways in Canada both map out options that do not depend on a caregiver pilot being open. If you are still working in Canada as a caregiver in the meantime, the temporary work visa route for caregivers keeps your status valid while you plan your next step.
Not sure whether a general PR route fits you now that the caregiver pilots are closed? That is a 30-minute question you can put directly to Ansari Immigration's licensed RCIC ($80). Book a consultation.
Frequently asked questions about the Home Child Care Provider Pilot
Is the Home Child Care Provider Pilot open in 2026?
No. It closed to new applications on June 17, 2024. IRCC still processes applications received on or before that date, but no new caregiver can apply to this pilot in 2026.
What replaced the Home Child Care Provider Pilot?
The new Home Care Worker Immigration pilots (for Child Care and for Home Support) are the caregiver pilots that followed it. However, those pilots are also currently closed, with application intake paused as of a December 19, 2025 IRCC notice.
How long does the Home Child Care Provider Pilot take to process after biometrics?
IRCC does not publish a fixed timeline for the remaining pre-deadline applications, and processing times change regularly. Check the current estimate on IRCC's official processing times tool for the most accurate figure.
Can I still become a permanent resident as a caregiver in Canada?
Not through a caregiver-specific pilot right now, because all of them are closed. Caregivers may still qualify for general economic pathways such as Express Entry or a Provincial Nominee Program stream if they meet those criteria independently.
What NOC codes did the Home Child Care Provider Pilot use?
It used NOC 44100 (home child care provider) and its sister Home Support Worker Pilot used NOC 44101 (home support worker). Both required full-time work in a private home rather than an institutional setting.
I applied before the deadline. Is my application still valid?
Yes. IRCC has confirmed it will continue to process applications received on or before June 17, 2024. Keep your contact information current and, if you were in the gaining experience category, send proof once you have enough qualifying experience.
Related Posts
Canada's New Caregiver Immigration Pilot: Permanent Residency on Arrival Explained: How the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots are designed to grant permanent residence to home care workers once intake reopens.
The Road to Permanent Residency for Caregivers in Canada: The broader set of options caregivers can use to reach permanent residence when a dedicated pilot is not open.
Applying for the Canadian Temporary Work Visa for Caregivers: How to keep valid status and work as a caregiver in Canada while you plan your permanent residence path.
Why work with Ansari Immigration. When the pilot you were counting on is closed, the honest answer matters more than a sales pitch. Ansari Immigration is led by a licensed RCIC (R709304), regulated by CICC and practicing since 2019. Every file is handled personally by the firm's consultant, start to finish, with fees quoted upfront and flat, transparent pricing (additional family members quoted separately). If the honest answer is that no current pathway fits you yet, that is the answer you will get, not a program you cannot use.
Have you been caught out by outdated caregiver-pilot information, or are you weighing your options now that intake is paused? Tell us in the comments, and keep it general; for advice on your specific case, a consultation is the right place. A 30-minute consultation with Ansari Immigration is $80.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal advice. Program criteria, requirements, processing times, and selection approaches can change without notice. Always confirm details on official government websites or consult a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) for advice specific to your situation.
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