This round's draw

In its July 28 round, Newfoundland and Labrador's Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism (OIM) issued 445 invitations in total, comprising 400 through the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) and 45 through the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). The province did not disclose which NLPNP category the selected candidates fell under, nor did it identify the industries in which they work.

Based on the province's published Expression of Interest (EOI) priority-ranking criteria, however, candidates may be favored for a range of reasons, such as working in a healthcare-related occupation or in sales and service, having studied in the province, or having French-language ability. In terms of scale, this round's 445 invitations matched the year's high of 445 set on March 6; and looking at the Provincial Nominee Program alone, the 400 invitations issued this round were the most in any 2026 draw (the NLPNP portion of the March 6 round was 362). The figure stands in stark contrast to the immediately preceding round: the July 10 draw issued only 57 invitations, the province's smallest selection this year.

Comparison with 2026 draws

As of July 28, Newfoundland and Labrador has issued a cumulative 1,989 provincial nomination (NLPNP) or endorsement (AIP) invitations in 2026, with Provincial Nominee Program invitations accounting for 83.6% of all provincial immigration selections. The table below summarizes all nine of the province's draws so far this year:

Rebound after the federal cut

The scale of this round has to be understood against a year and more of sweeping change in federal immigration policy. In early 2025, the Canadian federal government cut Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allocations across the country by roughly half, lowering the provincial nomination admissions target from a planned 120,000 to 55,000. With allocations slashed, Newfoundland and Labrador temporarily stopped accepting new applications and pivoted to a two-stage selection model built around the Expression of Interest (EOI), and provincial draw sizes generally shrank through the first half of the year.

In 2026, federal allocations began to recover. Under Canada's latest Immigration Levels Plan, the Provincial Nominee Program's admissions target for 2026 rises to 91,500, roughly 66% above the 55,000 in 2025; and in terms of the nomination certificates actually distributed to the provinces, the increase in early 2026 was about one-third. Newfoundland and Labrador has not yet officially announced its 2026 nomination allocation. Some immigration-focused media have estimated it at roughly 2,000 based on the overall increase, but that figure has not been confirmed by officials; for reference, the province's final 2025 allocation, after a mid-year top-up, was 2,525. Against this backdrop of recovering allocations, the July 28 draw tying the year's high is widely interpreted as a signal that the province is speeding up selections and using its allocation to the fullest now that the federal government has loosened the constraints.

How to be considered for NLPNP or AIP

Whether applying to the Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP) or the province's Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), the first step is the same: submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through the province's Immigration Accelerator Portal. Apart from the entrepreneur stream under the NLPNP, candidates generally need to hold a valid job offer from a Newfoundland and Labrador employer before they can enter the EOI pool.

The Expression of Interest gathers information such as a candidate's education, work experience, language ability, and intention to settle in Newfoundland and Labrador. Once submitted, the profile enters the provincial EOI pool. The province may prioritize candidates on the basis of a range of factors, including working in the healthcare sector, working outside major urban areas, studying locally, and having a stronger likelihood of long-term retention. The province sets out the full details on its "EOI model prioritization criteria" webpage, while also stressing that meeting one or more of the criteria does not guarantee an invitation.

From invitation to permanent residence

The province holds draws from time to time, inviting selected candidates to submit a formal application. Under the Provincial Nominee Program, the candidate submits the application; under the Atlantic Immigration Program, that responsibility rests with the employer. Invited candidates must file a complete application within the set time limit after receiving their invitation.

Once an application is approved, successful NLPNP applicants receive a provincial nomination certificate and successful AIP applicants receive an endorsement certificate; both can then use it to apply to the federal government for permanent residence (PR). According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as of July 7 the processing times for the relevant permanent residence applications were as follows:

An Expression of Interest remains valid for 12 months after it is submitted. A candidate who does not receive an invitation within that window must submit a new Expression of Interest to remain in consideration; for Atlantic Immigration Program candidates, that resubmission must be handled by the employer.