New Brunswick Strategic Initiative: PR Stream for French Speakers

The Strategic Initiative is part of the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP). It helps New Brunswick grow its French-speaking (Acadian and Francophone) communities. The province wants newcomers who can work and live in French.

Immigration New Brunswick (INB) nominates you. Then you apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. You do not need a federal Express Entry profile for this stream.

French speakers also have federal options, such as Express Entry French-language draws and the Francophone Mobility work permit. You can use more than one route, but only one application at a time with INB.

As of September 2026, you must:

• Be at least 19 years old.
• Have at least a Canadian high school diploma or its foreign equivalent.
• Have at least level 5 in all four French skills on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC), the French version of the Canadian Language Benchmarks.
• Have at least one year of qualifying work experience in the past five years. This is not required if you graduated from a New Brunswick post-secondary school.
• Meet the proof of funds requirement. This is not required if you live in New Brunswick or have a valid job offer from a New Brunswick employer.
• Score at least 65 out of 100 on the selection factor grid.

You prove your French with an approved test such as TEF Canada or TCF Canada. See language tests and the CLB and NCLC converter.

Francophone graduates

To qualify as a Francophone graduate, you must have been physically present in New Brunswick for the whole program. Online study from abroad does not count.

Letters of interest

INB sends letters of interest to candidates it wants to target. You cannot request one.

The stream has changed several times:

• The In-Person Exploratory Visit to New Brunswick option was paused in November 2024 and did not return in 2025.
• In 2025, INB said the stream had enough applications on hand for the year and was not accepting new expressions of interest.
• In 2026, the stream was back in the regular draw schedule. For example, INB held draws on June 3, 2026 under both the Francophone Workers in New Brunswick and New Brunswick Francophone Priorities pathways (source: INB invitation rounds page).

Because INB can pause intake when it has enough files, check the official stream page before you prepare documents.

You submit a free expression of interest (EOI) in the INB portal. It joins the NBPNP candidate pool and stays valid for 365 days. INB invites candidates in scheduled draws based on labor market needs, remaining allocation and provincial priorities. It is not first come, first served.

One INB profile can hold only one active EOI or application. If you also want to be in the Atlantic Immigration Program pool, use a separate profile with a different email. If you are invited under one, withdraw the other.

The EOI is free. If invited, you pay a non-refundable $250 provincial fee before you submit a complete application (as of September 2026).

On top of the usual forms, this stream asks for a settlement plan (form PCNB-IS 002, Plan d'établissement) that explains how you will settle in New Brunswick. After nomination, you apply to IRCC and pay federal permanent residence fees. You can apply for a work permit while you wait if you have a support letter from INB and an employer offer of employment number.

French is widely used in the north and east of the province, including the Acadian Peninsula, Edmundston, Bathurst and the Moncton and Dieppe area. The Acadian Peninsula is also one of the communities in the federal Francophone Community Immigration Pilot, another route for French speakers with a job offer there.

See the New Brunswick overview for cities, health care and settlement services.