New Brunswick AIP Reopens to Accommodation and Food Services Workers — Effective September 14, 2026

What Changed on September 14, 2026

Immigration New Brunswick has removed the full-sector ban on the Accommodation and Food Services sector (NAICS 72) under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP).

Since February 3, 2026, every job offer in a NAICS 72 business — hotels, motels, restaurants, cafés, catering, food trucks, bars, coffee shops — was ineligible for AIP endorsement in New Brunswick, regardless of the specific occupation. That sector-wide restriction has now been lifted. (Government of New Brunswick — Important Notices)

The province has confirmed the effective date and archived the earlier February 3, 2026 notice on September 14, 2026. (GNB — Archived Notices)

In plain language: Cooks, chefs, bakers, executive housekeepers, cleaning supervisors, maîtres d’hôtel, hosts and hostesses, bartenders, hotel front-desk clerks and similar workers inside the accommodation and food services sector are once again eligible to apply for AIP endorsement in New Brunswick — provided they meet the program’s other requirements and their specific NOC is not on the residual restriction list below.

What Is Still Restricted

Eight occupations remain excluded from AIP endorsement in New Brunswick regardless of sector:

• NOC 14400 – Shippers and receivers
• NOC 60020 – Retail and wholesale trade managers
• NOC 60030 – Restaurant and food service managers
• NOC 62010 – Retail sales supervisors
• NOC 62020 – Food service supervisors
• NOC 62101 – Retail and wholesale buyers
• NOC 64100 – Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers
• NOC 94142 – Fish and seafood plant workers

These stay closed because they are not the frontline positions New Brunswick is prioritizing for retention. Notably, this list keeps NOC 60030 Restaurant and food service managers and NOC 62020 Food service supervisors restricted even though the sector as a whole has reopened. (GNB — Important Notices)

Who Is Now Qualified Again — the Practical List

If you work for a NAICS 72 business (a hotel, restaurant, café, catering company, bar, or similar), the following occupations are now back on the table for an AIP endorsement application in New Brunswick, provided the job offer, employer designation, work experience, language, and education requirements are met:

• NOC 62021 – Executive housekeepers
• NOC 62024 – Cleaning supervisors
• NOC 62200 – Chefs
• NOC 63200 – Cooks
• NOC 63202 – Bakers
• NOC 64300 – Maîtres d’hôtel and hosts/hostesses
• NOC 64301 – Bartenders
• NOC 64314 – Hotel front desk clerks
• NOC 65200 – Food and beverage servers
• NOC 65201 – Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support
• NOC 65210 – Support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities set-up services
• NOC 65310 – Light duty cleaners
• NOC 65311 – Specialized cleaners
• NOC 65312 – Janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners (when employed within a NAICS 72 establishment)

Two exclusions stay even for NAICS 72 employers: restaurant/food service managers (60030) and food service supervisors (62020). Those two NOCs remain on the province’s residual list. (GNB — Important Notices)

The Rules That Did NOT Change

The reopening only removes the sector ban. The rest of the New Brunswick AIP framework from earlier in 2026 continues in force:

1. Candidate pool, not first-come-first-served. AIP endorsement applications go into a monthly candidate pool and are selected based on retention factors, not the order they arrive. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee selection. (GNB — Important Notices)

2. Overseas offers stay tightly limited. Endorsement applications for positions offered to foreign nationals residing outside Canada remain limited to recruitment initiatives led by the Government of New Brunswick in health care, education, and construction. Overseas hospitality candidates are still not being invited outside those government-led initiatives. (GNB — Important Notices)

3. Priority selection factors. Immigration NB continues to prioritize:

• duration of employment in New Brunswick,
• demonstrated economic establishment and attachment to the province, and
• employment or a job offer in a priority sector (health care, education, construction). (GNB — Important Notices)

4. Federal AIP program rules apply. All applicants must still meet the federal AIP eligibility floor: qualifying job offer from a designated employer, one year of continuous full-time work experience in the last five years in the relevant TEER category, CLB 5 language, and Canadian secondary or equivalent education (higher for TEER 0/1). (IRCC — AIP Who Can Apply)

Put simply: the sector door is open again, but selection remains competitive, and in-Canada candidates already working in New Brunswick with a designated NAICS 72 employer will be in the strongest position.

Why This Matters — the Practical Read

The February 3, 2026 overhaul had cut off a very large share of New Brunswick’s foreign workforce from any AIP pathway. Hospitality is one of the province’s largest employers of temporary residents, and the sector ban meant a cook or hotel front-desk clerk who had already invested one, two, or three years in New Brunswick had no AIP pathway and, for most, no PNP pathway either.

The September 14, 2026 reopening does not restore the pre-February 2026 world. It restores hospitality workers who are already working in New Brunswick for a designated NAICS 72 employer to the AIP candidate pool, subject to monthly retention-based selection. That is the practical population that benefits.

Workers overseas — for example, someone hired directly from India, the Philippines, or Nigeria into a New Brunswick hotel or restaurant — remain excluded from AIP unless the hire comes through a government-led recruitment initiative in health care, education, or construction.

Action Items — This Week

If you are a hospitality worker already in New Brunswick:

• Confirm your specific NOC. Cook (63200), baker (63202), chef (62200), executive housekeeper (62021), maître d’ or host (64300), bartender (64301), hotel front desk clerk (64314), light duty cleaner (65310), and similar frontline NOCs are now eligible. Restaurant and food service manager (60030) and food service supervisor (62020) are still not eligible.
• Confirm your employer is a designated employer under the AIP.
• Compile your evidence of retention: pay statements, employment letters, tax records, lease, driver’s licence, community ties, family in New Brunswick — the priority selection factors reward economic establishment and attachment to the province.
• Confirm your language test (IELTS General or CELPIP General — CLB 5), education credential (ECA if foreign), and continuous full-time work experience (12 months in the last five years in the relevant TEER category).
• If your work permit is expiring before you can be selected, plan an LMIA-based extension or another federal bridge. Selection is not guaranteed and the province has warned candidates to protect their legal status. (GNB — Important Notices)

If you are a New Brunswick employer:

• Check whether your existing AIP designation is still valid. New designation applications were paused in February 2026, but existing designations continue.
• Identify NAICS 72 employees who now qualify — especially those with one or more years already in the province.
• Prepare updated Endorsement Plans and retention plans, keeping the priority selection factors in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does September 14, 2026 mean cooks and bakers overseas can now apply for AIP in New Brunswick?

No. The reopening is real, but overseas endorsement applications remain limited to Government of New Brunswick–led recruitment in health care, education, and construction. NAICS 72 workers overseas are still not being invited unless they come through one of those government-led initiatives.

My NOC is Food service supervisor (62020). Am I back in?

No. Food service supervisors and restaurant/food service managers (60030) remain on the residual restriction list even after September 14, 2026. If you are working in one of these roles you are still excluded from AIP endorsement in New Brunswick.

I am a Cook (NOC 63200) working in a New Brunswick hotel. Do I qualify now?

You are once again eligible to be selected from the AIP candidate pool, provided you also meet the federal AIP criteria (designated employer, qualifying offer, one year of continuous full-time experience in the last five years in TEER 0/1/2/3/4, CLB 5, secondary school or higher). Meeting eligibility is not the same as being selected — the province will still prioritize by retention factors.

What are the retention factors New Brunswick is looking for?

Duration of employment in New Brunswick, demonstrated economic establishment and attachment to the province, and employment or a job offer in a priority sector (health care, education, construction). Hospitality candidates should therefore put heavy emphasis on length of NB employment, community ties, and economic footprint.

My AIP work permit expires in two months and I am not yet selected. What do I do?

Immigration New Brunswick expressly reminds candidates with expiring work permits to secure a federal pathway to keep working — commonly an LMIA-supported employer-specific work permit under the TFWP. Do not let status lapse while you wait for AIP selection.

Does this reopening apply to the New Brunswick PNP (Skilled Worker / Express Entry streams) too?

No. The September 14, 2026 notice is specifically about the Atlantic Immigration Program. NBPNP sector restrictions are governed by separate notices and streams. Confirm your NBPNP eligibility separately.

My employer is a hospital cafeteria, not a hotel or restaurant. Was I ever restricted?

Even under the February 3, 2026 ban, workers whose employer was not classified under NAICS 72 (for example, hospital food services, corporate cafeterias, school meal programs) were still eligible if their specific NOC was not on the residual list. After September 14, 2026, the sector question is largely moot for cooks, bakers, chefs, and similar NOCs — only the eight residual NOCs remain excluded.

Sources

• Government of New Brunswick — Immigration Important Notices (current)
• Government of New Brunswick — Immigration Notices Archive (Feb 3, 2026 notice archived Sept 14, 2026)
• IRCC — Atlantic Immigration Program: Who can apply
• IRCC — Atlantic Immigration Program overview

VG Immigration Services Inc. | Dimple Verma, RCIC-IRB R708308 | vgis.ca