The Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot are now officially closed, but IRCC has finished updating all internal instructions to lock in key June 2024 changes—especially the reduced work‑experience requirement and more flexible rules on where and when that experience can be gained.
Key June 2024 changes now fully reflected
IRCC’s ministerial instructions for these caregiver pilots were amended on June 16, 2024, and the December 9, 2025 update completes the process of aligning all program delivery instructions with those changes. For pending applications, the most important points are:
- Work experience requirement cut in half: Caregiver applicants now need 6 months of qualifying work experience instead of 12.
- Experience can be inside or outside Canada: For the Gaining experience category, IRCC will accept eligible work experience gained abroad, not just in Canada.
- Experience timing window expanded: Work experience can be counted if it was gained up to 36 months before the PR application, and up to the date the applicant proves they have acquired it.
- Only one shot to submit experience: Applicants in the gaining-experience stream get one opportunity to send their proof of work experience for a final PR decision.
All of these improvements apply to files already in the system when the pilots closed, which is crucial for caregivers still waiting on decisions.
Pilots closed, but pending files continue
IRCC confirms that the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot have ended, with no new applications being accepted under these specific pilots. However:
- Pending PR applications continue to be processed under the updated rules.
- New guidance bridges these legacy pilots with the newer Home Care Worker Immigration pilots, which now offer alternative pathways for future caregivers.
This means existing applicants benefit from more flexible experience rules without losing their place in the system.
Clarifications on education, work authorization and job offers
The December 2025 update also tightens operational details that matter for how officers assess caregiver files:
- Educational Credential Assessments (ECA): Instructions now cover cases where the foreign ECA result equals a number of years of study rather than a clearly named Canadian credential, clarifying how officers should interpret these assessments.
- Unauthorized work warning: Any caregiver work in Canada is treated as unauthorized if the person’s work permit remarks explicitly say they are not authorized to work in child care or health services occupations. That experience cannot be counted toward program requirements.
- Businesses vs. private employers: While businesses cannot be used as “employers” for the job‑offer requirement, experience obtained working for a business may still count as qualifying work experience, provided all other criteria (NOC, duties, hours) are met.
How work experience is now assessed
IRCC has created a dedicated section on assessing work experience with several important points:
- Part‑time experience: Part‑time work only counts if concurrent part‑time jobs add up to at least 30 hours per week, aligning with the full‑time definition.
- Status of employer and person receiving care: New guidance tells officers how to look at who employs the caregiver (e.g., family vs. business) and the legal/medical status of the person receiving care.
- Invalid job offers: If a job offer becomes invalid (for example, if the employer’s situation changes), officers have a clearer process on how to deal with the PR and associated work permit file.
- Financial capacity checks: Officers are directed to pay closer attention to the employer’s financial information to ensure they can realistically pay the caregiver’s salary as promised.
These refinements help reduce inconsistent decisions and clarify what evidence applicants and employers should provide.
GCMS and Category A (Gaining experience) processing
The update adds more detail on how files are handled in IRCC’s Global Case Management System (GCMS), including:
- For Category A (Gaining experience) cases, the “Eligibility – Stage 1” status must not be set to “passed” if the admissibility assessment (medical, criminality, security) is still incomplete.
- A new section explains what happens if proof of experience is received before the occupation‑restricted open work permit (OROWP) is approved:
- The exemption from job-offer reassessment only applies if all required experience was gained in Canada.
- Officers are given factors to decide whether to proceed with or adjust the pending OROWP application based on the new proof.
Minor corrections were also made in the finalization stage and organizational references updated to the International Platform Branch, reflecting IRCC’s current structure.
For caregivers with pending applications under the closed pilots, these updates generally make it easier to qualify—particularly through the 6‑month work‑experience rule and acceptance of foreign experience—while tightening how IRCC verifies job offers, authorized work and employer ability to pay.