Pausing Home Care Worker Immigration pilots application intake

​Ottawa, December 19, 2025—As part of our 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, we’re making our immigration system more responsive to the needs of the country by making sure that we have the skilled workers needed to fill labour gaps. Many home care workers—who provide essential support to seniors, children and people with disabilities—have already applied for permanent residence through pilot programs. Due to ongoing high demand, interest in the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots continues to exceed the spaces available, leading to longer wait times. In order to prioritize processing of existing applications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will pause intake until further notice. This means that the pilots’ intake will not re-open in March 2026. IRCC will continue to process applications received to date, in line with the Immigration Levels Plan. While we understand that this will be disappointing for prospective applicants and their families, this pause will prevent further inventory growth and support our goal to bring immigration back to sustainable levels. Any future updates on the program will be shared publicly.