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2026 Provincial Information Guide

New Brunswick Immigration & Settlement Guide

Comprehensive settlement roadmap covering active provincial nomination streams, public healthcare enrollment, driver's licensing conversion, and local compliance standards in New Brunswick.

Whether you are establishing permanent residency, relocating on an active work permit, or settling as an international graduate, explore essential statutory regulations, tax structures, and step-by-step onboarding milestones for New Brunswick.

Overview of New Brunswick

New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province, with English and French enjoying official-language status under provincial and federal law. Fredericton is the provincial capital, while Moncton is the largest urban centre and a major bilingual business and transportation hub. Saint John is an important port, energy and industrial centre. The provincial economy includes transportation and logistics, manufacturing, energy, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, information technology, health care, education and public services. New Brunswick's location on the Atlantic coast and its connection to the Maritime provinces make it an important part of Atlantic Canada's regional economy.

Key 2026 Policy & Regulatory Updates

  • New Brunswick's population was 866,497 on April 1, 2026.
  • The NBPNP continues to have four principal streams: Skilled Worker, Express Entry, Strategic Initiative and Business Immigration.
  • NBPNP EOIs are valid for 365 days and are not processed first-come, first-served.
  • 2026 NBPNP invitation rounds have targeted graduates, people with New Brunswick experience, health care, construction trades, education, manufacturing, professional and IT occupations, transportation and other priority categories.
  • The Strategic Initiative stream continues to focus on French-speaking workers and 2026 selection has included Francophone Workers and Francophone Priorities pathways.
  • The Atlantic Immigration Program remains available in New Brunswick through designated employers and provincial endorsement.
  • The three-month Medicare waiting period applies to people moving from another Canadian province or territory; eligible people moving from outside Canada can potentially receive coverage from their first day after establishing New Brunswick residence.
  • Temporary residents with work or study permits valid for more than six months may use a valid foreign licence for up to six months after landing in Canada.

Provincial Nominee Program & Express Entry

New Brunswick operates a Provincial Nominee Program. Its individual streams have their own eligibility requirements, intake rules and nomination criteria. Some streams are linked to Express Entry and some use a separate, non-Express-Entry process.

Healthcare coverage in New Brunswick

Provincial health insurance is not governed by one Canada-wide waiting-period rule. Eligibility can differ for permanent residents, citizens, work-permit holders, study-permit holders, visitors and other temporary residents.

Sales taxes and provincial tax structure

Canada uses a mix of HST and separate GST/PST or GST/QST systems. The rate that applies can also depend on the supply, place of supply and whether the product or service is taxable.

Province / territoryGeneral GST/HST + provincial structure
Alberta5% GST; 0% provincial sales tax
British Columbia5% GST + 7% PST
Manitoba5% GST + 7% PST
Ontario13% HST
Quebec5% GST + 9.975% QST
New Brunswick15% HST
Newfoundland and Labrador15% HST
Nova Scotia14% HST
Prince Edward Island15% HST
Saskatchewan5% GST + 6% PST
Yukon5% GST
Northwest Territories5% GST
Nunavut5% GST

This is a general rate reference, not a calculation of the tax on a particular transaction. Product-specific exemptions, rebates, place-of-supply rules and other tax rules can change the amount payable.

Foreign driver's licence and employment rules

Foreign driver's licence

Exchange eligibility is controlled by the provincial or territorial licensing authority. Requirements depend on the issuing country or jurisdiction, licence class, driving experience, immigration status and current reciprocal or recognized-experience arrangements.

Employment standards

Most employees follow provincial or territorial employment standards, but federally regulated sectors follow the Canada Labour Code. Minimum wage, hours, overtime, vacation, holidays and termination rules therefore cannot safely be reduced to one Canada-wide formula.

Settlement & Compliance Steps

  1. Choose the immigration routeDetermine whether NBPNP Skilled Worker, Express Entry, Strategic Initiative, Business Immigration or the federal Atlantic Immigration Program best fits your circumstances.
  2. Submit an EOI where requiredFor relevant NBPNP streams, create an INB profile and submit the Expression of Interest. The EOI remains valid for 365 days.
  3. Respond to an invitation or endorsement processNBPNP candidates who receive an invitation must submit a complete nomination application. AIP candidates require a designated employer, qualifying job offer and provincial endorsement.
  4. Register for MedicareAfter physically moving to New Brunswick, submit the Medicare application with the required immigration, identity and residency documentation.
  5. Check your driver-licence categoryDetermine whether your licence comes from Canada, the United States, a reciprocal foreign jurisdiction or a non-reciprocal jurisdiction because the testing requirements differ.
  6. Exchange your licence or complete testingQualifying reciprocal licences can generally be exchanged without the full examination. Non-reciprocal licences generally require vision, written and road testing.
  7. Complete federal permanent-residence processingAfter receiving an NBPNP nomination or AIP endorsement, submit the required federal permanent-residence application to IRCC. Provincial nomination or endorsement itself does not grant permanent-resident status.

These steps come from the imported province data used by this component. They should be maintained against the relevant provincial authority whenever a legal or procedural rule changes.

Frequently Asked Questions About New Brunswick

The NBPNP currently has four main streams: New Brunswick Skilled Worker, New Brunswick Express Entry, New Brunswick Strategic Initiative and New Brunswick Business Immigration. The province also lists the Critical Worker Pilot and Private Career College Graduate Pilot.

An NBPNP Expression of Interest is valid for 365 days. Submitting an EOI is free, and submission does not guarantee an invitation. New Brunswick selects candidates according to labour-market needs, available allocation and other priorities.

No. New Brunswick is Canada's officially bilingual province, but French is not universally mandatory for every worker or resident. French can create additional employment opportunities and is particularly important for the Strategic Initiative stream for Francophone workers.

It depends on where you move from. Someone moving from another Canadian province or territory generally becomes eligible on the first day of the third month after establishing permanent residence. An eligible newcomer arriving from outside Canada may qualify from the first day of arrival once New Brunswick determines that permanent residence has been established.

A temporary resident with a work or study permit valid for more than six months may choose to use a valid home-country licence for up to six months from the date they land in Canada. The licence must remain valid and the person must meet New Brunswick's conditions.

No. New Brunswick has licence-exchange arrangements with Canada, the United States and specified foreign jurisdictions. Eligible licences from those jurisdictions can generally be exchanged without the full written and road examination. Licences from non-reciprocal jurisdictions generally require vision, written and road testing.
Official Canadian References
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Key reminders

ImmigrationProvincial nomination rules are stream-specific. Québec and Nunavut do not operate PNPs.
HealthcareWaiting periods and temporary-resident eligibility vary by province.
TaxGST/HST and provincial sales tax structures differ by province and transaction.
DrivingForeign-licence exchange rules depend on the issuing jurisdiction and licence class.
EmploymentMost employment standards are provincial, except for federally regulated sectors.

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