New Brunswick Critical Worker Pilot: Employer-Led PR Pathway

The Critical Worker Pilot is a five-year provincial pilot. New Brunswick created it to fill jobs that have been, and are expected to stay, hard to fill in different sectors and regions of the province.

It is built around employers, not individual applicants. The Government of New Brunswick chose participating employers based on two things:

• Consistent use of provincial and federal economic immigration programs over at least the past three years.
• The ability to give newcomers extra support with settlement, skills development and language training.

Immigration New Brunswick (INB) nominates the workers these employers recruit. The workers then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. See how provincial nominee programs work.

Only if a participating employer hires you. INB says the pilot does not accept direct applications from candidates, and there is no need to send your resume to INB.

As of September 2026, INB describes the pilot as limited in scope and not open to broader participation. That means other employers cannot join at this time. INB says it evaluates the pilot regularly and more opportunities may come later.

The eligibility rules for workers, the selection factors and the list of participating employers are in the pilot guide on the INB website. Read it before you accept any offer.

INB lays out the process in these stages:

1. Accept a job offer from a participating employer.
2. If you are ready for permanent residence and meet the eligibility rules, create a profile and an expression of interest (EOI) in the INB portal. Your EOI goes into a candidate pool.
3. Candidates are selected based on immigration allocations, application volumes and labor market needs. If selected, you receive an invitation to apply (ITA) from your employer in your INB account.
4. Submit a complete electronic application, with all documents as PDF files, within 45 calendar days of the ITA.
5. INB assesses your application and posts its decision to your online dashboard.

Meeting the rules does not guarantee a nomination. New Brunswick can change criteria or pause the pilot.

Your nomination certificate is valid for six months from the date it is issued. You must submit a complete permanent residence application to IRCC before it expires, through the non-Express Entry provincial nominee process. Keep meeting the conditions of your nomination, including your job, while IRCC decides.

You cannot withdraw a New Brunswick nomination to reapply under another New Brunswick program or stream. If your job changes, contact INB using the post-nomination request form.

INB points job seekers to the provincial job board, NBjobs.ca, and to its information and recruitment events. Participating employers recruit directly, often through targeted recruitment.

Be careful. Nobody can sell you a place in this pilot. A real employer does not charge you for a job offer, and the federal employer compliance fee for a work permit must be paid by the employer. If someone asks you for money for a job or a nomination, see immigration scam protection.

Most people will use a different New Brunswick route:

• New Brunswick Skilled Worker stream for workers with an eligible New Brunswick employer.
• New Brunswick Express Entry stream for skilled workers in the federal pool.
• Atlantic Immigration Program through a designated employer.

Employers who want to hire from abroad can read about PNP employer streams and Atlantic designation.