New Brunswick limits immigration pathway to healthcare, education, and construction workers

The New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) has announced that as of May 4, 2026, it is limiting the issuance of invitations to apply (ITAs) under the NB Experience pathway of its Skilled Worker Stream to candidates in one of three sectors.

All new ITAs will be issued to individuals working in occupations falling under healthcare, education, and construction trades, “until further notice.”

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The province indicated that this decision is driven by the limited number of nomination spaces still available under the stream.

While the Government of New Brunswick has not publicly released its 2026 nomination allocation, trends recently uncovered by CIC News point to an estimated allocation of 3,603 for the year.

At the time of this writing, it is unclear how these nominations are distributed across its various streams and pathways.

Options available for candidates in non-targeted sectors

NBPNP candidates who've submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) under the Skilled Worker Stream, and whose occupation does not fall under one of the targeted sectors, may wish to be considered for another stream or program if they qualify.

If you are eligible, the Government of New Brunswick advises taking one of the following actions:

1. Withdrawing your existing EOI and submitting a new one instead, under a new program/stream.
2. Keeping your existing EOI profile and creating a separate INB profile to submit an additional EOI (or Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) endorsement application, if eligible).

The second option will require you to use a different email address than the one associated with your existing NBPNP EOI.

Recent changes to the NBPNP

This latest move comes just four months after New Brunswick implemented major changes to its Provincial Nominee Program.

As part of those February 3 changes, the province ceased the acceptance of new EOIs or issuance of ITAs to those working in the accommodation and food services sector (NAICS 72), for its Skilled Worker and Express Entry streams.

For the Skilled Worker Stream specifically, it also stopped considering EOIs or issuing ITAs for 14 National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes—across various sectors. Some ineligible NOCs include 65100 (cashiers), 62010 (retail sales supervisors), and 65101 (service station attendants).

For the Express Entry Stream, four specific NOCs were made ineligible for EOI consideration or ITA issuance.

The province also extended its Private Career College Graduate Pilot until the end of this year, though only for international students already enrolled in an eligible program at one of two New Brunswick colleges.

Several updates to New Brunswick’s AIP were made concurrently, as detailed in our earlier coverage.

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