Vietnamese tradespeople: could New Zealand's Green List open a door for you?

Visa guide · 2026-08-18 · 3 min read

Do you work as an electrician, plumber, welder or carpenter in Vietnam? New Zealand may have work for you. The country needs many building workers, and its visa system has special paths for some trades. Here is a simple guide.

How big is the shortage?

Industry estimates say New Zealand is short of roughly 60,000 people in building and construction. Half of this gap is for trades-qualified workers, such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders and gasfitters. A gasfitter installs gas pipes and appliances.

Why is there so much work?

The government has set aside close to $60 billion for infrastructure over the next four years. This money is for roads, hospitals, schools and water systems. Highways are being upgraded from Cambridge to Whangarei. Hospital work is moving ahead in Whangarei, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, Palmerston North and Dunedin, and a new hospital is planned south of Auckland. There are also ten school redevelopments, new courthouses and new police stations.

Home building is growing again too. New home consents went up 16% in the year to April 2026. The country still needs about 25,000 new homes each year as its population grows. Work is not only in big cities. Northland, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the South Island are also building.

What is the Green List?

The Green List is a list of jobs that New Zealand cannot fill from its own workers. It has two fast paths:

Straight to Residence is for higher-skilled jobs, such as civil engineers and construction project managers. Residence can come almost straight after a job offer from an accredited employer.
Work to Residence is for hands-on trades. These include electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, welders, fitters and metal fabricators. After two years with an accredited employer, at the right wage level, residence becomes an option.

An accredited employer is one that Immigration New Zealand has approved to hire workers from overseas. In 2025, ten more trades were added to the list. They include welders, fitters, panel beaters, vehicle painters and paving plant operators.

Which visa do most people start with?

Most workers start on the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). From late August 2026, a new Skilled Migrant Category path starts for trades and technicians with local experience. The official pages are at Immigration New Zealand.

Will your qualification count?

This worry is common, so here are the bodies that help:

EWRB covers electricians and electrical engineers.
PGDB covers plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers.
MBIE's Licensed Building Practitioners scheme covers carpenters and residential builders.
Engineering New Zealand covers engineering jobs.
NZQA compares overseas qualifications with New Zealand standards for trades that have no special body.

Registration is needed by law to work in these trades. It can also help with a points-based visa application under the Skilled Migrant Category. Vietnamese vocational certificates are usually checked again abroad, so keep certified English translations of your Vietnamese documents ready. A police clearance, usually the Judicial Record Certificate (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp), and an IELTS or PTE test may be asked for in some cases.

Please stay safe

Deal only with licensed organisations and real employers. Never pay an unlicensed broker. Be careful with anyone who asks for money upfront to "secure" a job or a visa. The need for skilled tradespeople is real and long-term, so take your time and prepare well.

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