New Brunswick: the Entrepreneurial Stream is gone, its successor is open

The New Brunswick Business Immigration Stream (NBBIS) is the province's current route for entrepreneurs. It replaced the Entrepreneurial Stream, whose forms are now kept only for existing clients. You start or buy a business in New Brunswick, run it on a work permit under a Business Performance Agreement, and then ask the province to nominate you for permanent residence.

New Brunswick describes the stream as current and active. Unlike its worker streams, it is not on New Brunswick's list of streams with scheduled draws, and no business draw results are published.

From the stream page and the official guide (March 2025):

• Personal net worth of at least CAD 500,000, or CAD 300,000 if you invest in agriculture, verified by a designated third party within 90 days of your invitation. Gifts or inheritances received less than six months before you apply do not count.
• An eligible investment of at least CAD 150,000 and control of at least 33.3% of the business equity.
• Two years of qualifying experience within the last five, as an owner of at least 51% or as a senior manager running daily operations and supervising at least two employees.
• Age 19 to 59, CLB 4 in all four skills, and at least a Canadian high school diploma or its foreign equivalent.
• At least one full-time job (30 hours a week or more) for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is not you or a family member.
• At least 65 of 100 points on the selection grid, and living in New Brunswick 75% of the time, within 100 km of the business.

New Brunswick does not publish processing times for individual applications.

• 1. Write the business plan and submit a free EOI on the Immigration New Brunswick portal. It stays valid for 12 months.
• 2. If invited, submit the full application within 90 calendar days.
• 3. Interview, if New Brunswick asks for one (no interpreters are allowed).
• 4. Sign the Business Performance Agreement within 60 days and receive a work permit support letter. Apply to IRCC and move to New Brunswick.
• 5. Report your arrival within one month and open the business within nine months.
• 6. After at least six consecutive months of operation, request nomination. A site visit and an interview follow.
• 7. Apply to IRCC for permanent residence. The guide also requires one year of operation within two years of your arrival.

For most applicants the exploratory visit is optional and worth 5 of the 25 business-plan points: at least five full business days in New Brunswick within the 12 months before you apply. If you are investing in agriculture it is mandatory, and must happen before you submit your EOI.

The EOI is free. The application fee is a non-refundable CAD 2,000, with no extra charge for family members. There is no deposit in the current stream. IRCC charges its own work permit and permanent residence fees.

We are not immigration lawyers or licensed consultants, and we do not file applications. We mentor the founder: choosing a business that is not on the excluded list, the business plan and financial model the province scores, the exploratory visit, and interview preparation. For the legal filing, work with a licensed representative.