Thousands of home care workers are stuck in limbo as permanent residency stream faces delays

Another policy and operational failure:

…In March, 2025, they applied for permanent residence through a dedicated immigration stream for home care workers. The program took 5,500 applications on a first-come, first-served basis, a fraction of total demand. Those who managed to get their applications accepted through an online portal were ecstatic, convinced that they were now on a straightforward path to obtain Canadian permanent residency. 

But more than 15 months later, they have received no updates from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on their applications. Many are now living in Canada on expired work permits, unable to legally work. Others hold work permits that are expiring in the near future, and are frantically searching for alternative immigration pathways. All are hoping that someone in the group chat will provide a sliver of information or a positive update that will offer them a lifeline to remain in the country.

IRCC’s website states that the current PR processing timeline for home care workers is a whopping 76 months – far longer than the average wait time for other immigration streams. There are roughly 38,000 total applications in the queue for home care workers, including those from other years….

“When you reduce the total permanent resident quota, you have to make tough decisions on what applications you want to process first. Right now, it is clear that care workers are not being prioritized,” said Lou Janssen Dangzalan, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer. …

Source: Thousands of home care workers are stuck in limbo as permanent residency stream faces delays