New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)

The New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) offers pathways to permanent residence for people who want to live and work, or run a business, in New Brunswick. Immigration New Brunswick (INB) selects and nominates candidates based on their skills, education and work experience and the province's economic needs. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) then makes the final decision on permanent residence.

The program has four streams (Skilled Worker, Express Entry, Strategic Initiative and Business Immigration) and two pilots (the Critical Worker Pilot and the Private Career College Graduate Pilot). New Brunswick also delivers the federal Atlantic Immigration Program, which is a separate program with its own candidate pool.

Streams and pilots in the NBPNP

4 + 2

How long an EOI stays in the pool

365 days

Health care, education and construction for New Brunswick Experience invitations since May 4, 2026

3 sectors

CRS points from an Express Entry nomination

600

1. February 3, 2026

   Sector and occupation limits for the Skilled Worker and Express Entry streams

   No invitations for jobs in accommodation and food services (NAICS 72) and for a list of retail, processing and customer service occupations in any sector.

2. May 4, 2026

   New Brunswick Experience invitations limited to health care, education and construction

   Because of limited remaining allocation under the Skilled Worker stream

3. September 14, 2026

   Atlantic Immigration Program employer designations stay paused for the rest of 2026

4. October 14, 2026

   More Atlantic Immigration Program occupations reopened for endorsement

Skilled Worker stream. You need the support of an eligible employer that has been operating in New Brunswick for the past 24 months, and you must meet your job's NOC requirements. New Brunswick Experience: at least 6 months of full-time work with the supporting employer, 6 months living in New Brunswick and a high school diploma. New Brunswick Graduates: a post-graduation work permit eligible program from a designated institution in New Brunswick and a full-time job. New Brunswick Priority Occupations: a job offer in a priority NOC that results from a recruitment mission led by the Government of New Brunswick, plus 1 year of related experience.

Express Entry stream. You need a valid Express Entry profile, at least a high school diploma, CLB 7 in all four abilities, 1 year of continuous TEER 0–3 work in one NOC in the last 10 years, and 67 points on the selection grid. Employment in New Brunswick: you work full time in a TEER 0–3 job and have lived and worked full time in New Brunswick for the past 12 months. New Brunswick Interest: you received a letter of interest in your Express Entry profile and meet the federal proof of funds requirement.

Strategic Initiative. For French speakers with at least NCLC 5 in all four abilities, a high school diploma, 1 year of qualifying experience in the last 5 years (not needed for New Brunswick graduates), proof of funds (not needed if you live in New Brunswick or have a job offer) and 65 points. Francophone Workers in New Brunswick: a permanent, full-time job with an employer operating for 12 months and 6 months living in the province (not needed after a provincial recruitment mission). New Brunswick Francophone Priorities: a graduate of an in-person program of at least 1 year at the Université de Moncton or the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB), or a letter of interest from INB. Francophones Working Remotely: 12 months living in New Brunswick while working remotely for a Canadian employer outside Quebec.

Business Immigration stream. For entrepreneurs who will start or buy a business and manage it daily. You need a personal net worth of at least $500,000 ($300,000 for agriculture), 2 years of ownership (51% or more) or senior management experience in the last 5 years, a business plan with at least $150,000 in eligible investments that creates at least one full-time job, and 65 points. You arrive on a work permit and ask for a nomination after six months of operating under a Business Performance Agreement.

Critical Worker Pilot. A five-year, employer-driven pilot for hard-to-fill jobs. Only six participating employers (Cooke Aquaculture, J.D. Irving Ltd., Groupe Savoie, Groupe Westco, Imperial Manufacturing Group and McCain Foods) can use it, it does not accept direct applications, and it is not open to broader participation. Invited candidates have 45 calendar days to apply.

Private Career College Graduate Pilot. For graduates of eligible education, social development and health programs at participating private career colleges in New Brunswick who cannot get a post-graduation work permit. It has been extended in a limited capacity to the end of 2027, only for students already registered in specific programs.

Beyond the rules of your stream, these apply to all NBPNP candidates:

• Not in a restricted sector or occupationFor the Skilled Worker and Express Entry streams, no invitations for jobs in accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), or for listed occupations in any sector, such as retail salespersons, retail sales supervisors, shippers and receivers, and fish and seafood plant workers
• One active applicationAn INB profile can have only one active EOI or application. If you submit more than one active application, all of them could be refused.
• Legal authorization to workYou are responsible for keeping your status and work authorization throughout the process. INB cannot promise a decision before your work permit expires.
• Job requirementsMeet the National Occupational Classification (NOC) duties and any licence your job requires
• Complete documentsThe mandatory documents listed in your stream's application guide, plus forms such as NB-005 Consent and Declaration

Jobs in accommodation and food services occupations can still qualify if the employer is not itself in the NAICS 72 sector. Check the current list of restricted NOC codes on INB's important notices page before you submit an EOI.

You choose a stream in your INB account, and your answers decide which pathways you qualify for. EOIs stay in the pool for 365 days. The Skilled Worker, Express Entry and Strategic Initiative streams have scheduled invitation rounds. INB publishes each round's date, pathways, sectors and number of invitations, but not a score cut-off.

Latest rounds, as listed by New Brunswick on November 4, 2026: Skilled Worker stream (New Brunswick Graduates and New Brunswick Experience), September 15 to 18, 2026, 197 invitations; Express Entry stream (Employment in New Brunswick), September 17, 2026, 102 invitations; Strategic Initiative (Francophone Workers in New Brunswick and New Brunswick Francophone Priorities), September 11, 2026, 251 invitations.

To change an EOI, you withdraw it and submit a new one. Because selection is not first come, first served, resubmitting does not move you to the back of a queue. If you are invited, you must withdraw all your other submissions with INB.

1. 1

   Read the application guide

   Each pathway has its own guide with the mandatory documents and selection factors.

2. 2

   Submit an EOI in your INB account

   Select I want to work in New Brunswick, choose your stream and complete the questionnaire. For the Express Entry stream, have an active Express Entry profile.

3. 3

   Receive an invitation

   Submit a complete application within the time in your invitation letter. Pay the non-refundable fee before you submit.

4. 4

   Completeness check and assessment

   INB requests missing documents or closes applications missing mandatory ones. Assessment can take several months, and an officer may call you or send a procedural fairness letter.

5. 5

   Nomination

   A nomination certificate is issued only through the INB portal. It shows whether you apply to IRCC through Express Entry or outside it.

6. 6

   Apply to IRCC before the certificate expires

   Include all family members, as accompanying or not. Use form NB-021 to report job changes, ask for a work permit support letter or ask to extend the certificate.

While IRCC processes your permanent residence application, you may qualify for a bridging open work permit on your own, or a closed work permit with a support letter from INB and an offer of employment number from your employer. The employer pays the compliance fee and cannot recover it from you. Once nominated, you cannot withdraw the certificate to reapply under another New Brunswick stream.

INB does not give processing times for individual applications. Business applicants also need a net worth verification from a private accounting firm. IRCC's processing times for provincial nominees and for the Atlantic Immigration Program are shown live below.

• Your application is missing mandatory documents listed in the guide, so INB closes it at the completeness check.
• You cannot satisfy INB that you meet every requirement, for example the 6 months of full-time work with the same employer for New Brunswick Experience.
• Your employer has not operated in New Brunswick for the required 24 months (12 months for Francophone Workers), or your job does not match the NOC.
• You have more than one active application with INB, which can lead to all of them being refused.
• Your language results are below the stream minimum, or your Express Entry profile is no longer valid.
• Your job changes after nomination and you do not report it to INB.
• Misrepresentation: false or missing information can lead to refusal and a five-year inadmissibility under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

If INB has concerns, it sends a procedural fairness letter before deciding, and your reply is your chance to address them. A challenge to an IRCC refusal in Federal Court (judicial review) requires a lawyer.

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a federal program for skilled workers and international graduates of post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada who have a job offer from a designated employer. It is not part of the PNP and does not give Express Entry points. The employer sends an endorsement application with your settlement plan, the province issues an endorsement certificate, and you then apply to IRCC.

• Employer designation pausedNew Brunswick has not accepted new employer designation applications since February 3, 2026, and the pause continues for the rest of 2026.
• Candidate poolEndorsement applications go into a pool. INB selects from it based on provincial priorities, and unselected applications expire after 365 days.
• Occupation limits since October 14, 2026All occupations are open except shippers and receivers, restaurant and food service managers, food service supervisors and fish and seafood plant workers. TEER 5 jobs are not eligible.
• Candidates outside CanadaEndorsement for people living outside Canada is limited to New Brunswick government recruitment initiatives in health care, education and construction.

INB gives priority to time employed in New Brunswick, economic establishment in the province, and work in health care, education or construction. In its October 2, 9 and 29, 2026 selections it chose 203 AIP applications. You can be in both the AIP and NBPNP pools with separate INB profiles, but you can move forward with only one.

A nomination is not permanent residence. IRCC checks your eligibility and admissibility, including medical, security and criminality checks for you and your family, and makes the final decision. Keep meeting the conditions of your nomination while you wait, and tell INB about any change in your job.