New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)

New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province, and its provincial nominee program reflects that: one of its four streams exists specifically for French-speaking candidates. For workers already living in the province, the NBPNP is usually the most direct route to permanent residence.

It is also one of the more restrictive provincial programs at the moment. Two rounds of changes in 2026 removed entire sectors and more than twenty occupations from consideration, and since May the largest pathway has been issuing invitations only in healthcare, education, and construction trades. Whether you qualify now depends far less on your credentials than on your NOC code and your employer's sector.

The program runs partly through the federal Express Entry system and partly outside it. That split matters, because the two routes have different requirements, different timelines, and different consequences if your circumstances change. Candidates who cannot meet either often turn to the Atlantic Immigration Program, which New Brunswick also administers and which has its own 2026 restrictions.

If you are going the Express Entry route, a New Brunswick nomination adds 600 points to your Comprehensive Ranking System score, which in practice guarantees an invitation at the next federal round. That is the single largest advantage the NBPNP offers, and it is worth structuring your file around if you can.

What Is the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program?

The NBPNP allows New Brunswick to nominate foreign nationals for Canadian permanent residence based on the province's labour market and demographic needs. Immigration New Brunswick, usually shortened to ImmigrationNB, runs the program. IRCC makes the final decision on permanent residence.

Everything now moves through the INB portal and a candidate pool. You create a profile, submit an Expression of Interest, and wait. ImmigrationNB issues Invitations to Apply based on labour market needs, remaining nomination allocation, and other priorities. Only invited candidates file a full application. An Expression of Interest stays in the pool for 365 days and then expires.

Two points follow from that structure and are worth stating plainly, because the province states them itself. Meeting the eligibility requirements does not entitle you to an invitation. And an Expression of Interest is not an application, so it does nothing to support an expiring work permit.

New Brunswick PNP Streams and Pilot Programs

The province publishes each stream's criteria and application guides on its official New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program page. One correction worth noting: several immigration news outlets reported in February 2026 that the Private Career College Graduate Pilot had been extended to the end of 2026. The province's own notice sets the extension to the end of 2027, in limited capacity, for students already registered in specific programs who would not have graduated before the original end date.

NB Skilled Worker Stream Requirements and Pathways

This is the largest NBPNP stream and the one most temporary residents in New Brunswick use. It is built for people already working, or holding an offer, in a full-time non-seasonal position with an eligible New Brunswick employer. It runs outside Express Entry, so a federal profile is irrelevant to it. Three pathways sit inside the stream, and you must fit one of them.

New Brunswick Experience Pathway

For workers already established in the province. You must be working full time in a non-seasonal position for an eligible employer willing to support your application, have at least six months of full-time experience with that supporting employer, and have been living in New Brunswick for the six months before you submit your Expression of Interest.

This pathway carries the heaviest current restriction. Effective May 4, 2026 and until further notice, all new Invitations to Apply under it are limited to occupations in healthcare, education, and construction trades. The province attributes this to limited remaining allocation under the stream.

New Brunswick Graduates Pathway

For graduates of a post-graduation work permit eligible program at a designated learning institution located in New Brunswick. You must also be working full time in a non-seasonal position for an eligible supporting employer, or have accepted an offer for one. Studying elsewhere in Canada does not qualify you here.

New Brunswick Priority Occupations Pathway

The narrowest of the three, and frequently misunderstood. Your job offer must be a direct result of a recruitment mission led by the Government of New Brunswick, your NOC must appear on the priority list in the corresponding guide, and you need at least one year of paid work experience related to the position. You cannot enter this pathway by finding a New Brunswick employer independently.

NB Express Entry Stream Requirements

The Express Entry stream is for candidates already in the federal pool, and a nomination here is what delivers the 600 point boost. Our comparison of Express Entry and provincial nomination covers how the two systems interact. There are two pathways.

Employment in New Brunswick. You must be working full time in a non-seasonal TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 position for a New Brunswick employer, have worked full time in a TEER 0 to 3 role for the past twelve months while authorized to work in Canada, and have been living in New Brunswick for the past twelve months. The twelve month experience can be with the same or a different New Brunswick employer.

New Brunswick Interests. You have received a letter of interest in your federal Express Entry profile. This is the route that requires no prior connection to the province, since New Brunswick reaches into the federal pool and selects you. You cannot apply for it directly.

NB Strategic Initiative and Business Immigration Streams

The Strategic Initiative stream targets French-speaking candidates with the education and work experience to contribute to the provincial economy. It requires French-language proficiency, a qualifying connection to New Brunswick, and assessment against a provincial points grid. An exploratory visit is one of the recognised connections. Because thresholds on this stream have shifted, work from the current application guide rather than any summary.

The Business Immigration stream is for entrepreneurs intending to own and actively manage a New Brunswick business. It sets minimum net worth, investment, age, education, and language thresholds, and requires a business concept the province accepts. Candidates weighing this against federal options should also look at the Start-Up Visa, which works differently and does not tie you to one province.

NBPNP Occupation and Sector Restrictions in 2026

These restrictions are the reason many otherwise qualified candidates are being turned away, and they are the part of the program most published guidance has not caught up with. All of them appear on the province's important notices page, which is the page to check before you prepare anything.

Accommodation and Food Services (NAICS 72) Exclusions

Effective February 3, 2026, ImmigrationNB does not consider Expressions of Interest or issue Invitations to Apply under the Skilled Worker or Express Entry streams to candidates working in the accommodation and food services sector. Named occupations include restaurant and food service managers (60030), food service supervisors (62020), executive housekeepers (62021), cleaning supervisors (62024), chefs (62200), cooks (63200), bakers (63202), maîtres d'hôtel and hosts (64300), bartenders (64301), hotel front desk clerks (64314), food and beverage servers (65200), food counter attendants and kitchen helpers (65201), and light duty cleaners (65310). The list is not exhaustive.

There is an important exception that is easy to miss. The restriction attaches to the employer's sector, not the job title. If you do this work for a business that is not itself in NAICS 72, a hospital kitchen or a corporate cafeteria for example, you can still submit an Expression of Interest.

Occupations Excluded Regardless of Sector

A second list applies no matter who employs you: shippers and receivers (14400), retail and wholesale trade managers (60020), retail sales supervisors (62010), retail and wholesale buyers (62101), retail and wholesale butchers (63201), retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (64100), other customer and information services representatives (64409), cashiers (65100), service station attendants (65101), store shelf stockers and order fillers (65102), meat cutters and fishmongers (65202), fish and seafood plant workers (94142), labourers in food and beverage processing (95106), and labourers in fish and seafood processing (95107).

Atlantic Immigration Program Restrictions in New Brunswick

The AIP changed on the same date. Endorsement applications now enter a candidate pool selected monthly against provincial priorities rather than being processed first come, first served, and unselected applications expire after 365 days. New employer designation applications are paused while the province reassesses its existing designated employers. NAICS 72 positions are excluded from endorsement, as are six occupations regardless of sector. Endorsements for candidates living outside Canada are limited to recruitment initiatives led by the Government of New Brunswick in healthcare, education, and construction trades.

How to Apply Through the NBPNP Candidate Pool

Step 1: Confirm Your NOC Code and Employer Sector

Before anything else, check your NOC against both exclusion lists and confirm your employer's primary business activity. This single check determines whether the rest of the process is available to you at all.

Step 2: Identify Your Stream and Pathway

Read the "Important Information for All Streams" guide, then the guide for your specific pathway. The pathways have materially different residence and experience requirements, and choosing the wrong one wastes an entire cycle.

Step 3: Create an INB Profile and Submit Your Expression of Interest

Register in the INB portal and submit your Expression of Interest. It remains in the pool for 365 days. If your circumstances change, the province's guidance is generally to withdraw and submit a new one, which does not send you to the back of a queue because the pool is not ordered by date.

Step 4: Respond to an Invitation to Apply

If invited, you submit the full application with supporting documents. Skilled Worker pathways require the NB-004 Employment Information form completed by your supporting employer, and all applicants file the NB-005 Consent and Declaration. A non-refundable application fee applies at this stage.

Step 5: Apply to IRCC for Permanent Residence

You must file your permanent residence application with IRCC before your nomination certificate expires. Once you hold a nomination certificate, you cannot withdraw it in order to reapply under a different New Brunswick program or stream.

New Brunswick PNP Draws and Invitations to Apply

ImmigrationNB publishes results of its invitation rounds on its Invitation draws page, and draws have continued through 2026 across the Express Entry, Skilled Worker, and Strategic Initiative streams despite the tightened criteria. Rounds are not held on a fixed schedule and the province does not publish a minimum score in the way federal Express Entry does.

Reading draw results is less useful here than in other provinces, because selection follows provincial priorities rather than a published ranking. A better indicator of your position is whether your occupation currently sits inside the sectors the province is actually inviting from.

NBPNP Processing Time and What Happens After Nomination

Immigration New Brunswick states directly that it cannot provide processing times for individual applications and cannot guarantee an application will be assessed before a work permit expires. Any specific number of months you see quoted for the NBPNP is an estimate someone has constructed, not a service standard.

The practical consequence falls on you. Maintaining your authorization to work throughout the process is your responsibility, and an Expression of Interest sitting in the pool provides no protection. For AIP endorsees specifically, the province can issue a letter of support for a closed work permit under LMIA exemption code C18, and it notes that AIP endorsees are not eligible for the Bridging Open Work Permit.

SEP Immigration works with candidates and employers across New Brunswick's streams, starting with the check that matters most right now: whether your NOC and your employer's sector leave you eligible under the current restrictions. From there we identify the right stream and pathway, prepare the Expression of Interest and the employer forms, and handle the permanent residence application once you are nominated. If your occupation has been excluded, we will say so and look at what else is realistically open to you. Book a consultation with our regulated Canadian immigration consultant.

This page is general information, not legal advice. NBPNP streams, occupation restrictions, sector limits, and pilot end dates change frequently, and several 2026 measures are stated to apply until further notice. Confirm current requirements with Immigration New Brunswick and canada.ca, or with a licensed representative, before you act.