Canada Pauses Applications For Home Care Worker Pilots

Canada has paused new applications under its Home Care Worker Immigration pilots, citing sustained high demand and growing application inventories.

On This Page You Will Find

• Why Canada paused applications for the caregiver pilots
• What IRCC said about processing backlogs
• How the pause affects 2026 intake plans
• Which caregiver programs are impacted
• What happens to applications already submitted
• A detailed FAQ section

In a statement released on December 19, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said interest in the caregiver pilots continues to exceed available spaces, resulting in longer processing times. As a result, the federal government will stop accepting new applications until further notice.

Crucially, IRCC confirmed the intake will not reopen in March 2026, removing a key pathway many prospective caregivers had expected to access next year.

Intake Pause Linked to 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan

The pause forms part of Canada’s broader effort to recalibrate immigration levels under the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan. Ottawa says the goal is to make the system more responsive to labour market needs while preventing further growth in application backlogs.

IRCC acknowledged the essential role played by home care workers who support seniors, children, and people with disabilities across Canada. However, officials said the volume of applications already submitted through the pilots is sufficient to meet near-term targets.

By freezing intake, the department aims to prioritise processing of existing applications rather than adding to inventory.

What the Pause Means for Applicants

The decision has immediate consequences for both caregiver pilots:

• No new applications will be accepted until further notice
• The programs will not reopen in March 2026
• All applications already received will continue to be processed
• No timeline has been provided for when intake may resume

IRCC said the pause will help bring immigration intake back to sustainable levels and improve processing efficiency. Any future changes to the caregiver pilots will be announced publicly.

Programs Affected by the Pause

The intake freeze applies to both caregiver pathways that offer permanent residence:

• Home Care Worker Immigration (Child Care) Class
• Home Care Worker Immigration (Home Support) Class

Both programs include Stream A for caregivers with Canadian work experience and Stream B for those without Canadian experience. Stream B has never opened and remains listed as closed.

How the Caregiver Pilots Fit Into Canada’s Immigration Reset

The Home Care Worker Immigration pilots were introduced as part of Canada’s effort to modernise caregiver immigration and move away from older, slower pathways that tied permanent residence to years of temporary work.

Unlike previous programs, the pilots were designed to offer caregivers permanent residence from the outset, provided they met language, education, job offer, and experience or training requirements. Ottawa positioned the programs as both a labour market solution and a fairness measure for workers providing essential care across the country.

However, the pilots were launched with strict annual intake caps. Each class is limited to 2,750 applications per year, with the first year capped at 2,610 applications under Stream A only. Stream B – intended for caregivers without Canadian work experience – has never opened.

Those limits quickly became a constraint. Demand consistently outpaced available spaces, particularly as Canada’s ageing population increased pressure on home care services and employers struggled to recruit domestically.

The intake pause suggests the caregiver pilots have become part of a broader recalibration of immigration priorities. Under the 2026 – 2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Ottawa is tightening intake across several programs while focusing on clearing existing inventories rather than expanding access.

For caregivers, the pause reflects a shift away from program expansion toward consolidation. While the government continues to acknowledge the sector’s importance, it is signalling that future caregiver intake will likely be more tightly managed, slower to reopen, and closely aligned with overall permanent resident targets.

In practical terms, the pilots now sit alongside other capped programs that remain technically open but functionally constrained by processing capacity and political pressure to control overall immigration volumes.

What Happens Next?

IRCC says it understands the pause will be disappointing for many prospective applicants and their families. However, officials argue that controlling intake now will help stabilise the system and ensure timely decisions for caregivers already in the queue.

No alternative federal caregiver pathway has been announced at this time.

Frequently Asked Questions