New Brunswick extends student pathway to permanent residence

New Brunswick has extended a study-to-immigrate permanent residence pathway for international student graduates of two private colleges.

The Private Career College Graduate Pilot is now set to remain open to international student graduates of select healthcare and child education programs at Oulton College and Eastern College until December 31, 2027.

Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP streams

Through the pilot, graduates with program-related full-time job offers can be nominated for permanent residence by the province, and can obtain authorization to work while their application for permanent residence is being processed.

The pilot provides a lifeline for participants seeking to work and live in Canada after graduating, who would otherwise be at risk of losing their status.

Oulton and Eastern graduates are not eligible for the federal government’s flagship post-graduation work permit (PGWP).

International student graduates frequently rely on the PGWP, an open work permit issued for up to three years, to obtain authorization to work in Canada while pursuing permanent residence through provincial or federal pathways.

Prior to the extension announced on New Brunswick’s Important Notices webpage on July 3, 2026, the pilot had been set to close on December 31, 2026.

According to the province, the most recent extension aims to accommodate international students currently enrolled in eligible programs of study “who would not have graduated prior to the pilot’s original end date.”

Which programs of study are eligible under this pilot?

To be eligible for the pilot, an international student must have graduated from a qualifying program in New Brunswick at Oulton or Eastern, and must have a full-time, non-seasonal job offer related to their program:

*Whether a graduate's job offer counts as an eligible occupation is based on the job's duties and responsibilities, assessed under Canada's National Occupation Classification (NOC) system, not on the job title.

International student graduates have 90 days from the program completion date shown on their transcript to secure an eligible job offer, apply for and receive a provincial nomination certificate, and apply for a T13 work permit with the federal government.

The T13 work permit provides provincial nominees with work authorization while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada processes their permanent residence application. With this permit, nominees can avoid losing status in the interim.

Candidates must continue to meet the conditions of their nomination while their permanent residence application is being processed.

In addition to having graduated from a qualifying program and having an eligible job offer, candidates must be at least 19 years old and must meet the minimum language proficiency requirement of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 5 in all four language abilities in English or French.

About the Private Career College Graduate Pilot

The extension through to the end of 2027 marks the second time the pilot has been extended.

The pilot was first extended for an additional year in February 2026.

It was launched in September of 2022, and had initially been set to run for three years.