# Electrician Exams



## lockers85 (Jul 11, 2016)

Hi Everyone,

New to these boards and wondering if anyone can possibly help me out.

We are arriving in Auckland in a few weeks, we have been granted working holiday visas already but my husband is also in the process of logging his EOI under the skilled migrant category for a Work to Residency Visa.

He has registered with the EWRB and they have granted him a limited licence.

They will provide him with a full licence once he completes Theory Course/Exam, Regulations Course/Exam and Stage 3 assessment.

My query is whether he can look to complete these exams as soon as he can when we arrive in Auckland in a few weeks so he can just get the full licence rather than have to work on a limited licence first? Also does anyone know if these courses will be charged at a higher price because he is not yet a resident/citizen?

Any help would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks

Sam


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

lockers85 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> New to these boards and wondering if anyone can possibly help me out.
> 
> ...


Hi and welcome,

Firstly a visa via the skilled migrant route is a Resident Visa. Not a Work To Residency Visa. That is a totally different visa. The Resident visa via SMC is a permanent class visa where the WTR visa is a 2 year temporary visa that can be turned in to a Residency or permanent class visa at a later stage should the holder of that visa wish to stay longer.
With the WTR visa you can only secure one with a job offer with an accredited company and there are criteria which has to be met for the job, responsibilities, salary etc etc. Plus, unlike the Resident Visa via SMC the WTR visa is an individual visa meaning the rest of the family will have to have visa of their own via the family stream.
Just make sure you understand the ins and outs of the visa route you will be following as it's easy to get confused.

As for the EWRB, there is a minimum time you must hold a limited certificate before you can progress further. Normally, for a trainee or apprentice it would be 4 years until you can have a license to be a practicing electrician. If he has experience in the UK this experience may work someway towards this 4 years but on the whole the experience the EWRB is looking for is NZ experience. The job like many others here is different so it's probably something he needs to discuss with them. He will need time to do all the courses anyway, take the exam etc and then time on the job being personally supervised for a while as that person needs to be his mentor and will need to sign off his work. That's not gonna happen quickly. I doubt he'll be able to do all the courses and satisfy all the criteria in like a matter of weeks or a few months but you never know ?

Limited certificates | Electrical Workers Registration Board

Yes it is possible he will have to pay international student fees due to the temporary nature of your visa, however if he applies for the courses when he has a job offer and a visa that allows him to work in a permanent position (e.g. RV via SMC or the WTR visa) that is a minimum of 2 years duration then he should be looked at in the same light as a permanent migrant so should then get reduced fees ?
Also, check the conditions of the WHV......is he allowed to study ?


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## Alilek (Sep 19, 2015)

Hi,
Yes, he can complete the exams and apply for a full licence straight off.
Just check the exams dates. In Tauranga it's only twice a year - June and November. 
My husband was on job search visa with a job, just waiting for PR to be stamped in his passport and still had to pay the higher international student fee.
Also the Limited licence application has to be signed by an employer, ie he will need to secure a job before being able to send off for his limited licence. Bit of a catch 22.
Good luck


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## lockers85 (Jul 11, 2016)

Thank you both for your replies, sorry for my late thanks, had a lot to double check with the better half and speak to EWRB about.

So firstly, thank you escapedtonz, for clarifying the difference between the 2 visas, he is applying under the skilled migrant category and I have been added onto his application. 

So EWRB have confirmed he can either get a job and get fully qualified person to sign to say they will supervise him and then EWRB will issue him with his limited licence as long as he completes the safe working practices/first aid course within 3 months BUT they have also advised he doesn't have to have the limited licence for any specific length of time before he can get a permanent licence as long as he completes and passed the regs and stage 3 courses/exams which is what they have stipulated he must do to gain permanent licence. They have reviewed his work experience and qualifications obtained in the UK and stated he just needs to complete the NZ regs exam and the stage 3 exam.

We've checked and as we will be in Auckland from August until January he can enrol and complete all these courses/exams in November and the college have confirmed he will not be charged international fees as they are only short course i.e not 1-2 year courses. Will still cost us £1700 for everything including EWRB exam fees etc.

I'm sure I will be back on here with more questions in the future! For the moment I will go back to panicking about flying over in less than 4 weeks still with a list of things to sort!! 

Thanks again!


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