Canada Announces Fast-Tracking Of Caregiver Permanent Residence Applications

Canada Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced on Thursday a plan to fast-track the permanent residence applications of caregivers during the pandemic.

“Immigrant caregivers, who take care of our families and elders, are often separated from their own families, and the pandemic has significantly slowed down permanent residence application processing, keeping them apart from their families longer than we would have hoped,” said Mendicino.

“With today’s announcement, we’re getting caregiver immigration back on track which will help reunite front-line heroes with their loved ones.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) processing times have bogged down during the pandemic and this plan is intended to speed up the processing of caregiver applications.

Under this new policy which takes effect May 3, the permanent residence applications of up to 6,000 caregivers who have finished their in-Canada work experience – and their immediate family members – are being tagged as high-priorities to be processed by the end of this year.

Canada’s Immigration Minister Wants To Make Entire System Digital

The IRCC is also pledging to make at least 1,500 first-stage decisions on applications for the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots by June 30, a move expected to allow more caregiver work permits to be processed this year for those with job offers in Canada. Those who applied to the pilots last year do not need to re-apply.

Those pilots have launched two years ago. They allow caregivers with temporary status to transition to permanent status and are occupation-specific, rather than employer-specific, work permits. The pilots also allow caregivers and their families to move to Canada as they gain work experience.

The Canadian immigration minister is a big proponent of digitizing and speeding up the country’s immigration processes. In a TV interview in January, Mendicino pledged to make Canadian immigration processes fully digital.