March 6, 2025
On February 27, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced exciting changes to the Express Entry- Category-based selections for 2025 that will benefit employees in Developmental Services, including some Direct Support Professionals employed by Karis.
The announcement noted that the National Occupation Code for Direct Support Professionals, NOC 42201 – Social and Community Service Workers, has been added to the Healthcare and Social Services category as an in-demand job code. This means that employees who have held a full-time DSP role for at least 6 months may be eligible to use this Express Entry immigration stream to gain permanent residency. This is exciting news! Express Entry is a point-based system and not everyone will benefit, but gratefully, it is an immigration stream now open for some employees. After years of advocacy from the Developmental Sector, this is important recognition at a national level of the staffing challenges experienced.
Employees who feel they meet the requirements of Express Entry, can request an immigration specific Employment Letter from Human Resources to support their immigration application. The request is made through CHConnect at https://portal.christian-horizons.org/topics/Pages/Employment-Letters.aspx (VPN required).
Additional information about Express Entry can be found on the Government of Canada website.
Laura Watson, Director of Recruitment & Retention