Hiring Filipino welders by country — routes and qualification requirements (reviewed 2026)

Country by country

• Australia: Welder (First Class) and Metal Fabricator on the Core Skills Occupation List; TRA skills assessment for Philippine passports, then the Skills in Demand visa with your sponsorship; your registered migration agent lodges. Six to nine months; qualification to AS/NZS or client code on arrival.
• Germany: welders through the experience route (two-year qualification and two years' experience, salary floor) or recognition of the TESDA/diploma qualification; German A2–B1 prepared in Manila; the accelerated § 81a procedure where you file it. Six to nine months.
• Austria: welders on the 2026 nationwide shortage list; Rot-Weiß-Rot card with 55 of 90 points; BMWET Pre-Check register waives the AMS assessment for listed Philippine qualifications; decision within eight weeks. Three to five months.
• Croatia: welders and ship welders exempt from the labour-market test; three-year permits; the 2026 employer conditions apply. Three to five months.
• Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary: national permits (Employee Card, single permit, work permit + TRP) with no recognition step; the test is the qualification. Three to five months.
• Norway: skilled-worker permit for yards and offshore fabricators; qualification and safety-training recognition per the North Sea matrix. Three to five months.
• Belgium: Flanders' medium-skilled shortage list — welders have appeared on it; the 2026 list is checked per role. Three to five months.
• Netherlands: skilled routes only; the UWV test blocks most trades.
• Gulf: employer sponsorship at MoHRE skill level; weeks.

What is the same everywhere

Every welder we present has welded coupons in Makati to your WPS — processes, positions, thickness range, material group — with visual and NDT (PT/MT, RT or UT as you specify) before the interview; certificates are reviewed against the issuing body; and the Makati test is designed to match the qualification test the welder will take on arrival, so that EN ISO 9606 or your code qualification is a formality rather than a gamble.

Welders are qualified trades, and almost every country we serve sponsors them: Australia (Welder (First Class) and Metal Fabricator on the Core Skills list, TRA skills assessment), Germany (experience route for diploma holders or recognition), Austria (welders on the 2026 shortage list, Pre-Check register for Philippine qualifications), Croatia (welders and ship welders exempt from the labour-market test), the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary on national permits, Norway for offshore and yard work, the Gulf on employer sponsorship. Flanders admits welders through its regional medium-skilled list; the Netherlands through skilled routes only. The country decides the timeline more than the trade does.

The Philippine side

Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office for the destination, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. The Philippine ban on direct hiring applies; the employer is always your company, directly.

Everything here is subject to the permit, qualification and licensing requirements of the destination country and the welding codes your contract specifies.

Frequently asked questions

• Which country for a fabricator that needs 20 welders in four months?

  Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania or Croatia — national permits, no recognition step; Germany and Austria are nine-month plans.

• Which country for the highest pay?

  Norway and Australia, with the longest and most regulated routes; Germany and Austria next, with the qualification routes.

• Can a welder move between EU countries later?

  On a new permit in the new country; EU permits are national. Long-term residence after five years changes that.