Caregiver work‑experience rules and moratorium

Summary#

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration issued two ministerial instructions in mid‑June 2024. The first changes how and when people in the caregiver streams must prove work experience for permanent residence. The second temporarily stops processing some new caregiver work‑permit applications for jobs outside Quebec.

What it does#

• Changes to the caregiver permanent‑resident rules

  • The Ministerial Instructions Amending the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Home Child Care Provider Class and the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Home Support Worker Class tighten the timing for proving work experience.
  • Applicants must show they have at least six months of full‑time work in an eligible job during a period that starts 36 months before the application and runs to 36 months after either a notice of assessment or the work‑permit issue date.
  • That demonstration must be made no later than 36 months after the relevant reference day, and it can only be made once.
  • If someone already had six months of eligible Canadian work before getting a caregiver work permit, and that work was not more than 36 months before they apply, some other conditions are waived.
  • Work done in Canada must have been authorized (for example, under a valid work permit) and done while the person had temporary resident status.
  • These changes took effect on June 16, 2024, and they apply to applications that were already pending on that date.

• Moratorium on processing certain caregiver work‑permit applications

  • The Ministerial Instructions regarding the processing of certain work permit applications tell officers not to process new work‑permit applications under the caregiver regulation for roles covered by NOC 44100 (excluding foster parents) or NOC 44101 when the job is located outside Quebec.
  • This refusal to process applies both to applications made at a port of entry and to some before/after‑entry applications — with additional conditions for the latter (for example, the person must be making a new application and not already hold a valid work/study permit).
  • Applicants whose files are not processed will be notified and will get their processing fee returned.
  • This moratorium came into effect on June 18, 2024.

Who's affected#

• People applying under the caregiver permanent‑resident streams:
  • home child care providers and home support workers who need to show six months of eligible work.
• Foreign nationals seeking new caregiver work permits for jobs outside Quebec under NOC 44100 or NOC 44101.
• Employers and recruiters trying to hire caregivers for positions outside Quebec.
• Immigration service providers, lawyers and settlement agencies who help caregiver applicants.
• The first set of instructions also explicitly applies to applications that were pending on June 16, 2024.
• The moratorium excludes foster parents (they are treated differently), and the precise scope for some before/after‑entry applications is defined by the instructions.

Why it matters#

• Timing and proof of experience now matter more. Some applicants who expected to use older periods of work to qualify may no longer meet the tightened windows.
• The moratorium reduces new caregiver temporary‑worker intake outside Quebec. That can affect people planning to come to Canada as caregivers and employers who rely on hiring them.
• Fees will be returned when an application is refused to be processed, but the application itself will not move forward while the instruction applies.
• The government says the change aims to control arrivals that don’t have a clear path to permanent residence and to align caregiver programs with broader immigration goals.