The search usually starts with a specific problem. A parent in Brampton has had a stroke and cannot be left alone during the day. Two working parents have a toddler and no child care spaces within reach. Someone at the gurdwara, the church, or the office mentions that they “brought a caregiver from back home,” and the family assumes there is a program for that, with a form to fill out.
There used to be a more direct route than there is at this point. Canada has run a long series of caregiver programs, and they have opened, filled, and closed repeatedly. The most important thing a family can do before making promises to anyone overseas is to find out what is open on the day they plan to act, because a pathway a friend used a few years ago may no longer exist.
This article is general information for families and care workers. It is not legal advice about your household. Caregiver rules change often and sometimes without much warning, so confirm the current position on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada websites before you commit to anything.
Two Different Questions That Get Mixed Together
Families tend to ask one question: “How do we bring a caregiver here?” There are really two, and they have different answers.
The first is about work: can this person lawfully work in our home for a period of time? That is a temporary question, handled through a work permit and, in most cases, a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
The second is about staying: can this person become a permanent resident? That is decided through a permanent residence program, and the applicant is the worker, not the family. You can offer a job and support an application with employer documents, but you cannot apply for permanent residence on someone else’s behalf, and a job in your home does not by itself lead to it.
Keeping these apart matters, because a care worker may reasonably accept a job partly in the hope of staying in Canada. If the permanent residence route is closed, an honest employer should say so before the worker gives up a job or sells belongings to come here.
Where the Permanent Residence Pilots Stand
The two programs most people have heard about in this area are the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots, one for child care and one for home support. They succeeded the earlier Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots, which closed to applicants on June 17, 2024.
IRCC has paused intake for the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots until further notice. Its notice explains that interest exceeded the available spaces and that wait times were growing, and that it will continue to process applications it has already received. No reopening date has been published, and IRCC’s own caregiver page lists these pilots as closed.
For a family, the practical result is that you should not treat permanent residence through a caregiver pilot as a benefit you can offer a prospective worker. Saying “it will open again soon” is a guess, and it could lead someone to make serious decisions on bad information.
Older programs, such as the Live-in Caregiver Program, remain relevant only to a narrow group of people who already hold status under them. A worker who is partway through one of these programs should get advice specific to that file, since the deadlines and conditions are tied to when they entered the program.
Hiring Someone Already in Canada
IRCC’s guidance for employers separates workers who are in Canada from workers who are abroad, and this is where many Brampton families run into a surprise.
If the person is already in Canada and holds an open work permit with no condition barring child care or health services work, you may be able to hire them directly, without an LMIA. A spouse of a skilled worker, or someone holding another type of open permit, may be in this position. Look at the permit itself. Some open permits say the holder cannot work in child care or in health services unless they have completed an upfront medical exam. An employer should ask to see the actual document rather than rely on a verbal assurance.
If the person is in Canada but needs an employer-specific permit, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program route applies. You would need a positive LMIA, and the worker would then apply for a work permit based on it. The worker must hold a work or study permit, or otherwise be allowed to work without one, in order to use this route under IRCC’s current description.
Hiring Someone From Abroad
This is the scenario many families have in mind, and it is the most restricted one. IRCC’s employer page indicates that, outside Quebec, hiring a home child care provider or home support worker who is outside Canada was tied to the pilot programs, which are closed to new applicants. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is listed for hiring from outside Canada only where the worker will work in Quebec.
In plain terms, a Brampton family hoping to recruit a nanny or personal support worker directly from another country, under the home child care or home support occupations, may find no open route at this time. That position could change with a program update. Check the page and get advice on your specific occupation and facts before you pay anybody or tell a worker to start preparing. If someone is telling you they can arrange this for a fee, ask them to show you exactly which program they mean and where it appears on a government website.
What the In-Home Caregiver LMIA Asks of You
Where the LMIA route is available, the family becomes an employer in the full sense, with payroll, records, and legal obligations. The main requirements published by Employment and Social Development Canada include the following:
- A business number. You need a nine-digit Canada Revenue Agency business number and a payroll account for the caregiver.
- Proof of the care need. For a child, this could be a long-form birth certificate. For a senior aged 65 or older, a passport or similar document showing age. For someone who is ill or disabled, a physician’s note or the program’s Schedule H form.
- Ability to pay. Service Canada compares your income with Statistics Canada low income cut-offs, usually through your most recent CRA Notice of Assessment.
- A signed employment agreement. The worker must receive it on or before the first day of work, and it must match the job offer on wages, duties, and conditions.
- Wages at the required level. You must pay at least the prevailing wage set for the occupation and location.
- Full-time work. The job must be at least 30 hours a week and performed in the private household where care is provided.
There is also an LMIA processing fee of $1,000 per position. Families can be exempt if they are hiring for home care of a person with medical needs, supported by a medical certificate, or for child care for a child under 13, and their gross annual income is $150,000 or less. Check the current amounts when you apply, and remember that fees are generally not refunded after a negative decision or a withdrawn application.
The low-wage cost rules apply on top of this. For low-wage positions, you pay transportation to the Canadian work location up front and cannot recover it from the worker. You may also need to arrange private emergency medical coverage for any period when the provincial plan does not cover the worker, and to register the worker with the provincial workplace insurance provider where that is required. None of these costs can be passed on through wage deductions.
Brampton is part of the Toronto census metropolitan area, which matters because low-wage LMIA applications can be refused in metropolitan areas with an unemployment rate of 6% or more. That refusal rule has exemptions, and the published exemption list includes certain in-home caregiver positions in private households. Review the current list before assuming your position falls within it, since the table of affected areas is updated every three months.
Live-In Arrangements Are No Longer the Default
Many families picture a caregiver living in the spare room, and for years this was how the system worked. The rule has moved firmly away from it. You cannot require a caregiver to live in your home, and Service Canada may refuse an application for a position advertised as live-in only.
There are limited openings for this. A family with high medical needs can submit a physician’s note or Schedule H certifying the condition and the need for live-in care. Other exceptional situations call for a written rationale explaining why live-in care is required, how often the need arises, what alternatives you looked at, and how you will keep working conditions fair.
If a worker freely chooses to live in, the room must be private and furnished, inside the home of the person receiving care, with a door that locks and an inside safety bolt. You cannot charge room and board. If you are not offering housing, you may need to show that affordable housing is available nearby. For a family living in a Brampton townhouse with a finished basement, this may mean a frank look at whether the space meets building and health standards, and not just whether it is comfortable.
Traps That Cause Real Trouble
A few mistakes come up again and again in this area, and they can harm the worker and the family at once.
Charging or allowing recruitment fees. Neither you nor anyone recruiting on your behalf can charge the worker a recruitment fee, directly or indirectly. Doing so leads to a negative LMIA decision and can cause bigger problems later. Ask any agency, in writing, how it is paid.
Paying an unauthorized “agent.” Anyone paid to represent or advise you on an immigration matter must be authorized, meaning a lawyer or paralegal licensed by a law society, a Quebec notary, or a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Family and friends can help for free, but the moment money changes hands, the rules apply.
Treating a visitor as staff. A parent or relative visiting Canada, including one here on a Super Visa, is not permitted to work without authorization. Paying a visiting relative to look after a grandparent, or hiring a visitor “just until the paperwork comes through,” is not a workaround. It puts that person’s status at risk and can affect future applications.
Inventing a need. The job must be genuine. Listing a relative as a caregiver for a person who does not need care, or describing duties that will not really be performed, can lead to refusals and misrepresentation findings against those involved.
Forgetting that you are an employer. A home is still a workplace. Ontario employment standards apply to many household workers, and an LMIA comes with its own conditions that can be inspected later. Keep time records, pay stubs, and proof of payment for at least six years.
Questions to Ask Before You Commit
Before you promise a job to anyone, it helps to work through a short list. Is the person in Canada, and what exactly does their permit say? Does the job fit the home child care or home support occupation, or is it really nursing or something else with different rules? Can you show the required income? Can you meet the wage and working conditions over the entire period, including if the person you care for goes into hospital or moves into long-term care? What will happen to the worker if your circumstances change?
That last question deserves careful thought. Care needs change quickly. A worker on an employer-specific permit generally cannot just move to a new home and begin working there. Plan for this at the start and tell the worker honestly what the arrangement can and cannot offer.
Getting Advice Early
The families who do best here tend to be the ones who check the rules first and recruit second. Our work visas page describes the kind of help available with employer-side work permit questions, and a short consultation before you make any promises can save money and heartache on all sides. Program availability can shift, and the page on IRCC’s site is what counts on the day you act.