Where this category sits
This is the New Brunswick route built for people the province has already educated, and it carries a language concession that no other New Brunswick category offers. It is also subject to the February 2026 sector and occupation bars, which do not soften because you studied in the province.
Check the sector and occupation bars before anything else
Accommodation and food services is barred from the whole Skilled Worker Stream, so no expression of interest is considered and no invitation issued for a job offer in that sector. A named list of occupations is blocked regardless of sector, and the province says the list is not exhaustive.
The lists sit on the province's important notices page rather than in the stream description, which is how graduates miss them. Being outside the barred sector is not the same as being outside the barred occupations, and both need checking.
- The language exemption is the reason to read this page carefully. The general requirement is CLB or NCLC 4 in all four abilities. Where the job offer is at TEER 0 to 3 and your New Brunswick programme was conducted in English or French, a test may not be required at all. For a graduate that saves a fee, a booking delay and a genuine risk of testing below a band.
- Six months of residence still applies. You must have lived in New Brunswick for at least six months with valid temporary resident status. For most graduates of a New Brunswick institution this is satisfied by the study period, but it has to be provable.
- The dual degree nursing exemption is worth knowing about. Graduates of the Université de Moncton and University of New Brunswick dual degree nursing programme holding an accepted registered nurse position are exempt from the education and residency requirements.
- The 4 May 2026 sector limit was aimed elsewhere. It restricted invitations under the New Brunswick Experience category to health care, education and construction. The February bars are the ones that reach this category.
What the category requires
| Requirement | What New Brunswick asks for |
|---|---|
| Education | Graduation from a designated learning institution in New Brunswick, from a programme eligible for a post-graduation work permit. |
| Job offer | Full time and non seasonal, in New Brunswick, from an eligible employer. Not in accommodation and food services, and not in one of the occupations blocked regardless of sector, on a list the province says is not exhaustive. |
| Language | At least CLB or NCLC 4 in all four abilities. Where the job offer is at TEER 0 to 3 and the New Brunswick programme was conducted in English or French, a language test may not be required. |
| Residence in New Brunswick | At least six months with valid temporary resident status. |
| Age | At least 19. |
| Dual degree nursing exemption | Graduates of the Université de Moncton and University of New Brunswick dual degree nursing programme with an accepted registered nurse position are exempt from the education and residency requirements. |
| Fees | The expression of interest is free. A processing fee of $250, non-refundable, falls due on invitation, covering a spouse or common-law partner and dependent children at no additional charge. The amount is fixed by New Brunswick Regulation 2012-36 rather than by policy. |
This category is assessed against its criteria rather than scored on a points grid, and it does not require a federal Express Entry profile. New Brunswick's separate Express Entry Stream does require a profile, CLB 7 and a points score, so the two should not be confused.
What we do not print here is how recent recent has to be. The category is for recent graduates and the province defines that in its current guide. Our research could not settle the figure from a primary source, and a wrong number would tell someone they are out of time when they are not, or the reverse. If your graduation is a year or more behind you, that is a question to put directly rather than a figure to read off a page.
New Brunswick Graduates requirements checker
A structured way to see where you stand against the published criteria. It returns an indication only, not an eligibility decision, not legal advice, and not a prediction that you will be invited.
Your situation
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If this category does not reach you
Three alternatives
A graduate blocked here is usually blocked by the sector bar or by recency, and those two point in different directions.
- If the sector is the problem, the Strategic Initiative is the first place to look. New Brunswick's French-language stream requires NCLC 5 and one of three connections to the province, and we found no sector restriction on it in the province's notices. Graduating from a New Brunswick institution can itself supply the connection where the institution was the Université de Moncton or the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick. What it requires.
- If recency is the problem, the Experience category does not care when you studied. It asks for six consecutive months with the supporting employer and six months of residence instead. Since 4 May 2026 its invitations are confined to health care, education and construction, so it helps if you are in one of those. The requirements.
- If your language and record are stronger than this category needs, look at Express Entry. The provincial Express Entry Stream requires CLB 7, a federal profile and twelve consecutive months with the same employer at TEER 0 to 3. Harder, and it opens the federal 600-point nomination advantage. The requirements.
And keep a federal profile current whatever you do. Canadian study and Canadian skilled work both score in the federal pool, and a New Brunswick graduate with a year of Canadian experience is often a stronger federal candidate than they expect. The Canadian Experience Class.