New Brunswick - (Worker) Atlantic Immigration Program

(Updated December 27, 2025)

Notification

Due to the high volume of applications, processing times in 2025 will be longer than usual. Immigration New Brunswick cannot provide processing times for individual applications and cannot guarantee that applications will be assessed or approved before their work permit expires.

You are responsible for maintaining your legal right to work throughout the immigration process.

Important: Effective April 4, 2025, the Atlantic Immigration Program is suspended for the remainder of the year, as the 2025 allocation has been exhausted.

This suspension affects:

• Receiving endorsements for new applications; and
• New invitations are being extended to employers to become designated employers under the AIP.

Full applications submitted on or before April 4, 2024 will continue to be processed. Applications submitted after this date will be closed.

Overview

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a pathway to permanent residency for:

• skilled foreign workers, and
• International students who have graduated from an accredited post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada.

This program is for people who want to live and work in New Brunswick. It helps designated New Brunswick employers recruit suitable candidates for positions they cannot fill locally from permanent residents and Canadian citizens living in the province. Only designated employers can initiate AIP applications.

Become a designated employer.

Contact the WorkingNB office in your area to learn about services available for New Brunswick employers.

A "workforce consultant" will work with you to identify your needs and potential employment services. They will also conduct a needs assessment.

WorkingNB will connect you with suitable employment services. If immigration is determined to be a genuine labor need, the needs assessment results will be forwarded to Immigration New Brunswick (ImmigrationNB). An ImmigrationNB officer will contact you to discuss the next steps and may invite you to submit an employer designation application.

Once you are a designated employer, you can apply to ImmigrationNB to endorse a position for a foreign worker.

To be endorsed for a position, you must:

• Provide proof that attempts were made to recruit locally but were unsuccessful;
• Recruit a foreign candidate;
• Providing a valid, full-time, non-seasonal job offer, co-signed by the applicant;
• Provide a personalized settlement plan through a New Brunswick settlement service provider, co-signed by the applicant;
• Complete mandatory onboarding training;
• Complete intercultural competency training, unless exempted by ImmigrationNB.

Endorsement applications for positions for foreign workers located outside Canada will only be accepted if ImmigrationNB determines that these positions fall within the following sectors, as defined by the NOC:

• Healthcare
• Education
• Construction trades

Note: If you want to endorse an applicant who is already in Canada with a study permit, you must wait until they have completed their studies before you can invite them to apply.

If approved, both you and the candidate will receive an endorsement certificate via the INB portal.

After receiving endorsement

If you have already received an endorsement certificate under the AIP from the Province of New Brunswick, withdrawing this certificate to reapply under a different program/stream administered by ImmigrationNB is not permitted.

Individuals who receive endorsement under the AIP are expected to file their permanent residence application with IRCC before their endorsement certificate expires.

Due to longer processing times at IRCC, some AIP endorsers may need to extend their current work permit. To assist, ImmigrationNB may issue a letter of support for a closed work permit under LMIA waiver code C18. This letter is a temporary solution while AIP endorsers await a final decision on their PR.

Note: AIP endorsers are not eligible for the Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) program.

Additionally, ImmigrationNB must be notified of any changes to the employment status of the AIP endorser, such as job loss, change of employer, or change of location. These changes may affect program eligibility, and the endorsement certificate may need to be updated.

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