Economic immigration
Permanent residence for child care and home support workers, through the 2025 Home Care Worker pilots that replaced the earlier caregiver pilots.
Paused until further notice since IRCC’s December 19, 2025 notice. Applications already received are still being processed.
This pathway is not taking new applications. The rules below describe how it worked, for reference and for anyone whose application is still being processed.
Employer-specific permits where the employer first shows, through an LMIA from ESDC, that no Canadian was available.
Open with limits: ESDC will not process low-wage LMIAs in metropolitan areas with unemployment of 6% or more (a list it updates every quarter), and low-wage hires are capped at 10% of a workplace.
The main federal route to permanent residence for skilled workers, through the Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades programs. You create a profile and IRCC invites the highest-ranked candidates.
Open. IRCC is recalculating every profile under the new CRS rules from November 3, 2026, and rounds resume once that is done.
Provinces and territories nominate people who fit their own labour needs. A nomination through an Express Entry-linked stream adds 600 CRS points.
Open. Each province runs its own streams and intake rounds, and several changed or paused streams in 2026, so check your province.
Statuses change, sometimes with little notice. Always confirm on the official page before you apply. This is general information, not legal advice.
