New Brunswick Immigration for French Speakers (2026 Guide)

New Brunswick is the easiest province outside Quebec to immigrate to in French. Its New Brunswick Strategic Initiative stream is only for French speakers, and the language bar is NCLC 5 in all four skills on the TEF Canada or TCF Canada, not NCLC 7.

You still need a real connection to the province: a job there, studies at a French-language institution, a letter of interest from Immigration New Brunswick, or a year of living there. This guide covers each pathway, the 2026 invitation rounds, how the points work, the other routes (Express Entry stream, Atlantic Immigration Program, the Acadian Peninsula pilot) and what to do next. It's part of our French for Express Entry series.

Quick answer

• Canada's only officially bilingual province. Provincial services are offered in English and French, and many communities, especially in the Acadian regions, live mainly in French.
• One provincial stream just for French speakers, with three pathways.
• Regular French draws in 2026: Strategic Initiative rounds in January, February, March, April, June and July.
• Other routes still reward French: the Atlantic Immigration Program accepts TEF and TCF, and the Acadian Peninsula is a Francophone Community Immigration Pilot community.

The New Brunswick Strategic Initiative: three pathways

Immigration New Brunswick (ImmigrationNB) describes the stream as being "for French-speaking foreign nationals who have eligible connections to New Brunswick and wish to live and work permanently in the province". You choose the pathway that fits your connection:

• Francophone workers in New Brunswick: a permanent, full-time, year-round job (or an accepted offer) with an eligible NB employer, and either 6 months living in NB or a job offer received through a Government of New Brunswick recruitment mission.
• New Brunswick Francophone priorities: living in NB after an in-person program of at least 1 year at Université de Moncton or CCNB (Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick), or a letter of interest from ImmigrationNB.
• Francophones working remotely in New Brunswick: 12 months living in NB while working remotely, the whole time, for a Canadian employer located outside Quebec.

If you're abroad with no job offer, two doors are realistic: a recruitment mission job offer or a letter of interest from ImmigrationNB.

Core requirements

According to ImmigrationNB's January 2026 guide for the Francophone priorities pathway, you must:

• be at least 19 years old;
• have at least NCLC 5 in listening, reading, writing and speaking;
• have at least a high school diploma (Canadian, or a foreign equivalent);
• have at least 1 year of work experience related to your NB employment in the past 10 years, or have completed a program of at least 1 year at a New Brunswick post-secondary institution;
• meet or be exempt from the proof of funds requirement (no minimum if you already live in NB or have a job offer);
• intend to live and work in New Brunswick permanently;
• score at least 65 out of 100 on the selection grid.

The other two pathway guides use the same NCLC 5 in all four skills minimum.

How French is scored

On the 100-point grid, French is worth up to 28 points: one score per skill.

The other factors are age (up to 12), education (up to 25), work experience (up to 15) and adaptability (up to 20). A spouse or partner with at least CLB/NCLC 5 in all four skills adds 5 adaptability points.

Worked example (illustrative)

Fatou (an example, not a real applicant), 28, finished a 2-year in-person program at CCNB and lives in New Brunswick. She has 2 years of paid work experience in her field.

At NCLC 5 she passes the 65-point minimum by just one point. Every NCLC level above 5 is worth 4 more points across the four skills, so a little extra French gives her a safety margin.

Strategic Initiative invitation rounds in 2026

ImmigrationNB uses an expression of interest (EOI) pool. Your EOI stays valid for 365 days, and invitations are based on "provincial labour market needs, our remaining allocation, and other factors and priorities". No minimum score is published.

Other New Brunswick routes for French speakers

New Brunswick Express Entry stream

This stream is for candidates in the federal Express Entry pool, with two pathways: Employment in New Brunswick (12 months of full-time TEER 0–3 work for an NB employer while living there) and New Brunswick Interests (a letter of interest sent to your Express Entry profile). A nomination adds 600 CRS points.

The guides set the first official language at CLB/NCLC 7, and give 4 extra points if your second official language is at CLB/NCLC 5 or higher in all skills. Since 3 February 2026, ImmigrationNB isn't considering EOIs in this stream from people working in accommodation and food services, or in some retail occupations.

Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)

The AIP is a federal-provincial program run with designated employers in the four Atlantic provinces. You need a job offer from a designated NB employer and, according to IRCC, CLB/NCLC 5 for a TEER 0–3 job or CLB/NCLC 4 for TEER 4, in English or French. TEF Canada and TCF Canada are both accepted. ImmigrationNB issued 114 AIP invitations on 22 July 2026.

Francophone Community Immigration Pilot: the Acadian Peninsula

The Acadian Peninsula in northeastern New Brunswick is one of six participating communities in IRCC's Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP), and its information is in French only. You need a job offer from a designated employer in the community and at least NCLC 5 in all four abilities. See our Francophone Community Immigration Pilot guide.

Mobilité francophone

If you get a job offer in New Brunswick first, a Mobilité francophone work permit needs only NCLC 5 in speaking and listening and no LMIA. That year of NB work can later qualify you for the Francophone workers pathway. Read our Mobilité francophone guide.

Express Entry's French-category draws

With NCLC 7 in all four skills, you can also be invited directly in federal French-category draws, without a province. Check recent rounds on the French draw tracker, and see what each NCLC level unlocks:

TCF Canada and TEF Canada scores for NCLC 5

Here are the scores you need for NCLC 5 on the TCF Canada (highlighted row). If you already have results, type them into the converter below.

For the TEF Canada, which column counts depends on the program. Express Entry uses the certificate's "Équivalence ancien score". IRCC's AIP and FCIP tables use the score out of 699. For the NB Strategic Initiative, follow the equivalency chart ImmigrationNB links to in your pathway guide. The table below lets you switch between the two:

Not sure which test suits you? Our TCF vs TEF comparison helps you choose. If you're aiming higher for Express Entry, our NCLC 7 on the TCF Canada guide gives the exact scores.

What to do next

1. Check your French level

   Start with the free 10-question French level test. It shows in minutes whether NCLC 5 is close.

2. Take a full mock test

   Sit a timed TCF or TEF mock test. New Brunswick needs NCLC 5 in every skill, so your weakest skill is the one that decides.

3. Practise until every skill clears NCLC 5, ideally 6 or 7

   Each level above NCLC 5 adds 4 points on the NB grid. Use our practice pages, or a Premium plan for detailed writing and speaking feedback.

4. Build your connection and your EOI

   Find your pathway (job, studies, letter of interest or remote work), read its ImmigrationNB guide, then submit your EOI in the INB portal.

5. Compare with other provinces

   Our French PNP streams tool lists every provincial stream that rewards French, and the language requirements tool shows the NCLC each program needs.

If you're starting from scratch, this planner estimates how long NCLC 5 might take at your pace:

Common mistakes

• Applying with no connection. NCLC 5 alone isn't enough: every Strategic Initiative pathway needs a job, studies, a letter of interest or a year of living in New Brunswick.
• Scraping NCLC 5 in one skill. The minimum applies to each of the four skills. If one skill sits right on the line, a slightly weaker retake can't be combined with the old report.
• Letting the test expire. Results must be less than 2 years old on the day you apply to ImmigrationNB, not just when you submit your EOI.
• Using the wrong TEF column. Express Entry uses the ancien score; IRCC's AIP and FCIP tables use the score out of 699. Check the chart your program points to.
• Forgetting English. The Strategic Initiative doesn't require English, but many jobs in Moncton, Fredericton or Saint John use it every day. Some English makes the job search, and the connection, much easier.
• Ignoring stream restrictions. ImmigrationNB pauses or narrows occupations from time to time, as it did for the Express Entry stream in February 2026. Read the notices before you submit.

Our take

For a French speaker who can build a link to the province, New Brunswick is the most French-friendly provincial route outside Quebec: its own stream, NCLC 5 instead of 7, and regular invitations in 2026. The catch is the connection, so plan that first, then make sure every skill clears NCLC 5 with room to spare. Start with the level test and a mock test.