Situated along Canada’s Eastern Coast, many bilingual (French and English) citizens call New Brunswick their home. One of the most appealing things about the province is its simplistic lifestyle.

About natural beauty, the province has many luscious lakes, forests, and majestic mountains. Some of the cheapest lands in Atlantic Canada are located in New Brunswick. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) average price of homes sold in February 2023 was $274,449. This represents a decrease of 6.6% from the February 2022 statistic.

New Brunswick’s economy is driven mainly by natural resources like forestry, mining, fishing, tourism, agriculture, small-scale manufacturing and an ever-increasing service sector that provides balance and diversity.

There are many opportunities to explore in New Brunswick. Still, before you do so, you need to familiarize yourself with the New Brunswick Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) that suits you best.

Make Your Move to Canada

New Brunswick PNP’s Streams for Immigrants With Job Offers:

New Brunswick Skilled Workers Stream

The New Brunswick Skilled Worker Stream is for workers with the skills, education, and work experience to contribute to New Brunswick’s economy and who are ready to live and work in New Brunswick permanently. You must have a full-time job offer in an eligible position.

New Brunswick Skilled Workers Stream Eligibility Requirements

  • Express Entry Profile:
    • Not needed
  • Ties to the Province:
    • Not needed
  • Job Offer:
    • Not needed
  • Proficiency in Language:
    • Minimum Level 4 CLB in all competencies of language i.e writing
  • Education levels:
    • At least the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma
  • Work Experience:
    • A year of worth of work experience in the past five years in a job that’s relevant
  • Age:
    • Must be between 19-55 years of Age
  • Income/Settlement Funds:
    • Settlement funds as proof of financial self-sufficiency are necessary
  • Average Processing Time:
    • At least 18 months

New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot

If you’re a skilled worker planning to make a move to New Brunswick then you can do so via The New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot (NBCWP). This program enables employers in New Brunswick to provide support and services to foreign workers so they can more effectively transition into life in New Brunswick. The program is open to a lot of companies that include: but are not limited to:

  • McCain Foods
  • Groupe Savoie Inc
  • Imperial Manufacturing
  • Groupe Westco
  • J.D. Irving Ltd
  • Cooke Agriculture

As part of the NBCWP, each of these companies will:

  • create settlement plans providing support for housing and transport that enables newcomers to settle in the country for the long-term
  • Have HR departments hire skilled foreign workers and give on-the-job training to those workers
  • Guide and support workers pursuing secondary education or an equivalent education
  • Give 200 hours of language proficiency training

The main target of this program is skilled workers working in specific occupations that employers found difficult to fill from the local market. These efforts result in fewer labor shortage problems.

The NB Transport Truck Driver Stream

New Brunswick Transport Truck Driver stream is managed by the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP). It was created to attract and retain immigrants with the skills and experience needed to increase the value of the provincial economy.

Truck drivers with job offers from New Brunswick trucking companies are targeted specifically by the Transport Truck Driver stream. For many truck drivers with job offers in New Brunswick, this stream is a fast-track option for immigrating to the province and granting permanent residency status through a relatively quick route compared to other immigration programs. To be eligible as a truck driver, you must:

  • Have a valid job offer from an NB trucking company
  • Have a minimum of two years worth of work experience in the trucking industry
  • Have a valid commercial driver’s license and
  • Meet the language proficiency requirements for either English or French

The Atlantic Immigration Program

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is an immigration program driven by employers and was designed to give solutions to labor shortages and provide a bump to the population of the four Atlantic Provinces of Canada.

Through this program, it is planned that 2,000 immigrants and their families can be invited to move to either New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Nova Scotia.

There are primarily three AIP programs each with its own specified eligibility criteria:

  • Atlantic International Graduate Program
  • Atlantic High-Skilled Program
  • Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program

To apply to any one of these pilot programs, please follow the instructions outlined here.

New Brunswick Express Entry Stream

This program provides the quickest pathway to immigrate to New Brunswick. To earn permanent residency status quickly, you must meet the eligibility criteria specified by the Express Entry system.

New Brunswick Express Entry Stream Eligibility Requirements

  • Express Entry Profile: Yes (Must have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 300)
  • Ties to the Province: Not needed
  • Offer of employment: Not needed
  • Proficiency of language: Express Entry Requirements (CLB level 7 for FSWP and CEC; CLB level 4 for FSTP)
  • Education levels: Requirements for Express Entry(tertiary qualification, high school, and on-the-job-training or training specific to the job)
  • Work Experience: Requirements for Express Entry (A year for FSWP and CEC; for FSTP at least 2 years)
  • Age: Requirements for Express Entry
  • Income/Settlement Funds: Needed as proof of Financial Self-sufficiency
  • Average Processing Time: At least six months

New Brunswick Strategic Initiative stream

The New Brunswick Strategic Initiative Stream targets French-speaking foreign workers wh possess the skills, education and work experience needed to contribute to New Brunswick’s economy and can settle in the province permanently.

The Eligibility requirements for this program include

  • Age:
    • You must be 19 to 55 years old
  • Language:
    • You must have at least a score equal to or greater than an NCLC 5 for French in these four language competencies: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
  • Reside in New Brunswick:
    • It is imperative that you show genuine intentions to settle in New Brunswick
  • Education:
    • You must at least have a secondary Canadian (high school) diploma or an international high school diploma equivalent to a Canadian credential granted by the ECA.
  • Ties to New Brunswick:
    • To be considered for the New Brunswick Strategic Initiative Stream, you must have either a job offer, visited the province before or been invited by the province of New Brunswick
Start Your Canadian Journey

If You Want to Start a Business in New Brunswick

Individuals interested in starting a new business in New Brunswick are most welcome to do so through the following immigration streams designed to attract and retain skilled foreign businesspeople to contribute to the province's economy.

New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream

This stream was created with the intent to bring experienced business people who want to acquire Canadian permanent residency status in New Brunswick through the means of managing and owning a business in the province.

The eligibility criteria for the New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream are as follows:

  • Your business contributes economically to the province
  • Make an exploratory visit for a minimum of five full business days in New Brunswick
  • You must be proficient in English and French with a minimum CLB 5 or NCLC
  • Have a minimum of two years of post-secondary education or an ECA if you studied at a foreign institution
  • You must be actively involved in the day-to-day running of your business.
  • have ownership of at least a third of the business
  • Have a minimum personal net worth of CAD 600,000, of which CAD 300,000 can be liquidated
  • You must invest no less than CAD 250,000 when investing in a business
  • Be between the ages of 22 and 55 years of age
  • You must create or maintain a minimum of two jobs in New Brunswick.
  • Demonstrate that the business you purchased is profitable while operating it for a minimum of two years
  • Within 90 days of receiving an ITA you must have completed a Net Worth Verification Report
  • You must create and submit a business plan
  • Show you intend to live and work in New Brunswick;
  • You must score at least 65 points (of 100) in these selection factors: Age, Language, Education, Personal net worth, Business ownership, Adaptability to life in Canada

If You Have Studied in New Brunswick

If you were fortunate enough to be a foreign student in one of New Brunswick's post-secondary and/or tertiary institutions, then you may use the following NB PNP pilot to apply to immigrate to the province.

New Brunswick Private Career College Graduate Pilot

This pilot attracts international graduates/students that possess the right skills, work experience, and education the province needs so they can contribute to the economy when they complete their studies.

The pilot can be used by international graduates with one to two-year study programs that are closely related to occupations in

  • Health,
  • Social Development,
  • Education,
  • Information Technology (IT),
  • Cybersecurity,
  • Business Administration,
  • Supply Chain, and Logistics.
Do You Qualify?

Applying for the NB PNP: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Check Your Eligibility

You must determine if you are eligible to apply to a Provincial Nomination Program stream that suits your needs. We recommend consulting a professional in order to do this.

Be mindful of the Eligibility Requirements section that helps you assess if you meet the criteria. you can apply to the most promising New Brunswick PNP stream once you have determined your eligibility. The steps outlined in the documents can be used to ensure the smooth processing of your application.

Step 2: Validate Your Credentials

You must have your credentials assessed by the ECA. You have a limited amount of time to submit an application once you’ve received an ITA so it is best to validate your documents beforehand so that your application is properly verified.

Step 3: Fill Out and Submit Your Application

Research Canada and New Brunswick to understand the country and provinces' needs better before you submit your application.

Step 4: Recieve Your Nomination

You will receive a provincial nomination certificate or a refusal letter once you have submitted your application. You must consider applying for a work permit if you receive a nomination certificate. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will further analyze your application if you are nominated.

Step 5: Prepare for Your Move

Before you relocate it is crucial that you prepare financially by developing a budget for the first six months after you immigrate to New Brunswick. You must consider the likelihood of purchasing a vehicle and looking for accommodation while searching for a job for some time.

New Brunswick In-demand Occupations

Along with the rest of Canada, New Brunswick has major labor shortages that are precipitated by a lot of socio-economic problems from which an overall low-birth rate is the most significant issue.

To try and solve this issue, New Brunswick has a list of in-demand occupations that prospective immigrants use to determine if they are needed in the province. Some of these occupations are (with NOC codes):

  • Senior managers (0013)
  • Managers in health care (0311)
  • Restaurant and food service managers (0631)
  • Financial and investment analysts (1112)
  • Human resources professionals (1121)
  • Executive assistants (1222)
  • Purchasing agents and officers (1225)
  • Administrative assistants (1241)
  • Accounting technicians and bookkeepers (1311)
  • Information systems analysts and consultants (2171)
  • Database analysts and data administrators (21720
  • Software engineers and designers (2173)
  • Computer programmers and interactive media developers (2174)
  • Computer network technician (2281)
  • Early childhood educators and assistants (4214)
  • Translators, terminologists and interpreters (51250
  • Retail sales supervisors (6211)
  • Retail and wholesale buyers (6222)
  • Cooks (6322)
  • Transport Truck Drivers (7511)
Talk to an Expert

Why Choose to Move to New Brunswick?

Moving to New Brunswick comes with a host of benefits which include but are not limited to

  • Scenic views of the surrounding countryside and Atlantic seaboard
  • A welcoming community of people that has some the largest numbers of bilingual people in Canada
  • Lots of economic and job opportunities within the agricultural and aquacultural industries (and industries related to both) of New Brunswick
  • A relatively low crime rate
  • Lots of opportunities to find and get affordable housing
  • Enjoy a cost of living rate relative to the high quality of life
  • Live among a vibrant and diverse community of people with lots of cultural festivals and events

Get Ready to Live Your Best Life in New Brunswick Today!

With the understanding that moving from one country to the next can be challenging for any individual, we recommend using the services of one of our Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs).

An RCIC will help guide and facilitate the process of your immigration application and ensure that you fall into any of the pitfalls that may delay your application or make it unsuccessful.

Ready to Start Your Journey?

FAQs

What is the Best Place to Move to in New Brunswick?

There are lots of places stated to be the best place to settle in New Brunswick. Among them, Dieppe is a rising immigrant destination in New Brunswick. Its low cost of living, rapid population growth, and significantly bilingual population have made it a commonplace settlement for a lot of newcomers to the province.

What is the Most Culturally Diverse City in New Brunswick?

Moncton is among New Brunswick's largest urban areas and one of its most culturally diverse, as people from all around the world come to its Atlantic shores in search of a better life.

What is the most interesting place in New Brunswick?

One of the most generally cited interesting places in New Brunswick is Hopewell Rocks, Provincial Park. Over twenty giant stacks of rocks are dotted along the Atlantic beach, a natural phenomenon that is over a thousand years in the making.