Electrical engineers can move to New Zealand with a visa from Immigration New Zealand (INZ), the government's immigration agency, and registration with a second body. INZ's registration check marks engineers in general as not needing registration, but electrical engineers as needing it, and it names the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) as their registration authority. Tahatū, the government's careers site, agrees that the job needs registration, and gives instrumentation, power systems and control systems engineer as other names for it. Registration is about prescribed electrical work, the types of electrical work that New Zealand's electricity laws regulate: people registered with EWRB who hold a current practising licence may carry out or supervise it, within the limits of their registration class. Each visa below also needs a job, or a job offer, with an accredited employer, meaning one INZ has approved to hire migrants.

Registering as an electrical engineer in New Zealand

EWRB registers electrical engineers in their own class, and its requirements for people trained overseas start with the qualification. It accepts a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical), a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Electrical), the New Zealand Diploma in Engineering (Electrical) or an equivalent the Board accepts, and only electrical engineering qualifications count. Before you apply, Engineering New Zealand or the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) must assess your qualification, and it must reach level 6 or higher on New Zealand's framework.

Experience comes next: 2 years (4,000 hours) of practical training and experience in electrical engineering work overseas, including installation wiring work such as connecting cables, installing switchboards, lighting and power outlets, earthing, fault-finding, testing and certification. Among other things, your references must be certified, give start and end dates and hours, and describe the prescribed electrical work you did. EWRB can limit your electrical work to specific areas of experience, such as power generation at high and medium voltage, transmission, distribution substations, and protection or control systems, and it assesses this case by case.

The steps then follow EWRB's route for overseas-trained applicants. If your application shows the required experience, you receive an assessment letter and an invitation to apply for a Limited Certificate. You then work under supervision in New Zealand for the hours and type of work the letter sets, and complete any short courses, examinations and practical assessments it lists; you need that certificate before you can apply for a practising licence. EWRB also offers endorsed versions of the class for work such as hazardous areas, mains parallel generation systems, medical cardiac protected areas and mining operations.

Green List, work visas and residence for electrical engineers

INZ's Green List names the roles New Zealand needs workers for. Electrical Engineer is a Green List role that can lead to residence straight away: once you are employed, or have an offer, with an accredited employer at the pay INZ sets, you may apply from inside or outside New Zealand. The role accepts any of these: a Washington Accord engineering degree, an honours Bachelor of Engineering, a benchmark letter from Engineering New Zealand for a qualification at level 7 or above, or Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) registration; the engineer page explains them. You apply for the Straight to Residence Visa, which also asks that you be 55 or younger and speak and understand English, and that the job be full-time and either permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months, or else a contract, or continuous contracts, lasting at least 6 months. Our Green List guide covers the tiers.

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) lets you start with work instead: it rests on a full-time job offer, and the employer must have an approved job check for that role, meaning INZ has cleared it to fill that role with a migrant. On the registration side, INZ accepts a certified copy of full or provisional registration, or confirmation from the registration body, here EWRB, that the job is eligible for New Zealand registration. Our AEWV guide explains the steps.

A second residence route, the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), also needs a job or job offer from an accredited employer, and its points-based pathway needs 6 points. INZ's registration list gives 3 points for EWRB registration with a practising licence as an electrical engineer, and 6 for CPEng registration with Engineering New Zealand. Skilled work in New Zealand after you register can add up to 3 more. For other ways to reach 6 points, see our SMC guide or try the points calculator.

Electrical engineer or electrician: which EWRB class is yours?

EWRB keeps the two apart. Its electrician class is built on experience: 4 years (8,000 hours) as an electrician overseas, including at least 1 year (2,000 hours) of wiring in buildings, and its registration requirements list no qualification. The electrical engineer class asks for half those hours but adds an electrical engineering qualification assessed at level 6 or higher. The Green List separates the jobs too: Electrician (general) is a role that leads to residence after 2 years of work in New Zealand, while Electrical Engineer can lead there directly. If you hold an engineering technology degree, the Green List also has an Electrical Engineering Technician role, whose accepted qualifications include a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Electrical Engineering) and a Sydney Accord degree in electrical engineering.

A common mistake electrical engineers make

Applying to EWRB before the paperwork is ready. EWRB says your qualification must be assessed by Engineering New Zealand or NZQA before you apply, and that if you have not completed the required hours or cannot provide evidence of employment, your application will be declined and the fee will not be refunded. Its list also asks for references on company letterhead, signed and dated by your employer or supervisor, with their email contact details. Engineering New Zealand's credential check can also produce a report for EWRB's registration assessment or for an INZ visa application.

First steps

1. Ask Engineering New Zealand for a credential check and request the report for EWRB's registration assessment.
2. Gather certified references covering 4,000 hours, including the installation wiring work EWRB lists.
3. Apply for the electrical engineer class through EWRB's overseas-trained route.
4. Apply for full-time jobs whose employers are accredited for the AEWV.
5. Before a residence application, check what the Electrical Engineer entry on the Green List asks for.