Welders can move to New Zealand, and the path runs through one decision rather than two. Your visa is decided by Immigration New Zealand (INZ), the government's immigration service. There is no separate licence to get first: INZ's registration checker, which shows the jobs that have a registration authority, has no entry for welding. What makes this trade distinctive is where it sits on INZ's lists. Welders and metal fabricators appear on the Green List, INZ's list of roles that can lead to residence, and both are also on the list of jobs eligible for the Trades and Technician pathway, a residence route for people working in eligible trades and technician roles.

Do you need to be registered to work as a welder in New Zealand?

No. Occupational registration means being registered with an organisation that regulates a job, and INZ's checker finds no such organisation for welding. Its list of registrations that count for skilled resident points has no welding entry either.

Tahatū, the government's careers site, says you usually learn on the job to become a welder and a qualification may be useful. The options it names include entry and intermediate certificates in welding, the New Zealand Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3) and an apprenticeship in welding. It adds that you may need a driver licence and to pass a drug test.

Employers can still set their own bar. For the Accredited Employer Work Visa, INZ says you must show the skills and experience your employer asks for, which may include certifications specific to the role. INZ's own minimum for that visa is 2 years or more of relevant job experience, or a qualification at level 4 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework, in the same field as the job. INZ does not ask for that evidence if you show instead that you meet the job's Green List requirements.

Green List, work visas and residence for welders

Everything starts with a job offer. The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) needs an offer of full-time work from an employer INZ has accredited to hire migrants, with an approved job check for the role, in which INZ makes sure the employer tried to recruit New Zealanders first. Our AEWV guide explains it. INZ grades welder as a skill level 3 job on its Trades and Technician list, and at skill levels 3 to 5 the AEWV asks you to show that you can speak and understand English.

INZ's Green List shows whether a role can lead to residence at once or after 2 years of work in New Zealand. Welders are in the second group, and the list also names metal fabricator, pressure welder and fitter-welder as separate roles. The welder entry sets no registration or qualification condition; its conditions are about pay. Under the Work to Residence Visa, you apply after 24 months in a qualifying Green List job within the last 30 months, and if a role is taken off the Green List after you start, INZ still counts your time in it. That visa also has an upper age limit of 55, an English requirement and wage conditions. Our Green List guide has more.

The Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) is a residence visa for skilled workers with a job or job offer from an accredited employer. Welding is among the jobs its Trades and Technician pathway accepts. You need a relevant qualification at level 4 or above, or comparable to level 4, then at least 4 years of work after gaining it, 18 months of which must be skilled work in New Zealand paid at least the SMC wage threshold, and your current job must be paid at least that threshold too. Our guide to the Trades and Technician pathway and SMC guide go further.

Welder or metal fabricator: which job title fits?

INZ treats them as two occupations, so pick with care. Its skill level page says a job must be matched to a single occupation, the one that is the closest match to your role, though it need not be exactly the same. For the SMC, your skilled work must closely match the job title and description for your occupation. Both titles are on the Green List and on the Trades and Technician list, so the choice is about describing your real work accurately rather than about which door it opens. Our guide to New Zealand occupation codes shows how the codes are organised.

Does a welding qualification from abroad count?

It can count for the Trades and Technician pathway if it is relevant to your job and assessed as comparable to level 4 or higher. A qualification from outside New Zealand has no credit requirement, but INZ wants an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). INZ says most qualifications from outside New Zealand require an IQA. Before you apply, check what NZQA can assess: its list of things it cannot evaluate includes apprenticeships without formal training programmes, letters or certificates of work experience, and professional registrations, licences or certifications. Qualifications gained in New Zealand have their own rule: at least 120 credits, alone or together with prerequisite qualifications.

A common mistake welders make

Counting years of welding done before the qualification. The Trades and Technician pathway counts only post-qualification work: 2.5 years of relevant experience, plus 1.5 years of skilled work in New Zealand, all after the qualification. Welders who learned on the job and gained their qualification later can count only the time since they qualified. INZ also sets time windows: relevant experience must fall within the 10 years before you apply, and skilled experience in New Zealand within a period twice as long as the amount you need.

First steps

1. Read the welder and metal fabricator entries on INZ's Green List.
2. Collect proof of your welding work from employers, such as certificates of employment, pay slips or tax certificates, which INZ accepts as evidence, unlike a CV on its own.
3. If you hold a qualification from abroad, apply to NZQA for an International Qualification Assessment.
4. Look for a job with an employer accredited by INZ.