Radiographer to New Zealand: the Medical Radiation Technologists Board route, step by step
How New Zealand's MRTB registers an overseas radiographer as a medical imaging technologist, from the eligibility check to the practising certificate.
In New Zealand you will not be registered as a radiographer. The Medical Radiation Technologists Board (MRTB) registers you in a scope of practice, and for diagnostic work that scope is Medical Imaging Technologist.
Getting the scope right is the first decision in the file, not a detail at the end. This post follows the Board’s process for internationally qualified applicants in the order it publishes, and covers the two practising certificates that follow registration.
Who you will be joining
New Zealand’s imaging workforce already draws heavily on people trained abroad.
New medical imaging and radiation therapy registrations
Unit: registrations
| Category | Internationally qualified | NZ graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 165 | 268 |
| 2023/24 | 207 | 271 |
| 2024/25 | 209 | 258 |
Internationally qualified practitioners made up a large minority of the Board’s new registrations in each of the last three years.
Medical Imaging Technologist is a Tier 1 role on New Zealand’s Green List.
Source: immigration.govt.nz · Green List roles · 2026-09-22
The eligibility check
The Board’s first step is an Eligible check form. It tells you whether you can apply at all, before you spend effort on documents.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · Internationally qualified - How to register · 2026-10-04
Our registry rates this route Medium. In its own words, that means document review plus a moderate assessment step, such as syllabus or portfolio scrutiny.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · route as recorded and rated in our regulator registry · Sept 2026
Everything ready before you start
The Board’s portal will not let you submit until every document is uploaded, so prepare the set first. The Board asks for:
- Certified qualification certificates, your academic transcript and your academic syllabus
- Your clinical logbook, if you have one
- One personal and one professional reference
- Your CV
- A certified copy of your passport, and evidence of any name change
- Evidence of registration, and a certified letter of good standing
- Criminal conviction checks
- The Board’s clinical experience form
- Evidence that you meet its English language requirements
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · Internationally qualified registration · 2026-10-04
Two items deserve early attention. The clinical logbook is optional on paper, but it is the clearest proof of what you have done; if your college kept one, request a certified copy. The letter of good standing must come from the body that registered you where you trained, so ask for it now rather than when everything else is ready.
Profile, application, then questions
You create a profile with the Board, complete the registration application form and upload your documents. After that, watch both your inbox and the portal: the Board sends its requests for additional information there.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · Internationally qualified - How to register · 2026-10-04
Answer each request fully and in one reply where you can. A partial answer usually leads to a second request. Keep a simple log of what the Board asked, what you sent and when, so nothing is answered twice or missed.
How the Board decides
The Board’s question is one of equivalence. In its words:
Your qualifications and experience will be assessed to determine if they are equivalent or satisfactory as an approved New Zealand qualification for that scope of practice.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · Internationally qualified - How to register · 2026-10-04
The yardstick is the Competence Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand. If your qualification is not found equivalent, the Board may offer a Board-approved examination. The outcome is sent by email.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · Competence Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand · 2026-10-04
Read the Competence Standards before you write your clinical experience form. If your syllabus and logbook speak to the same competencies the standards list, the assessor has less to infer.
English: four ways in
Every applicant must meet the Board’s English requirement, through one of four pathways: a Board-accredited qualification; English as a first language with the primary qualification taught and assessed solely in English in a recognised country; qualifying registered practice in a recognised country with two senior referees; or an approved test.
On the test pathway, the Board accepts IELTS Academic with at least 7 in each of the four sub-tests in one sitting, or OET Radiology with at least B in all four sections in one sitting.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · English Language Proficiency policy (v4.1) · 2026-10-04
After registration: two certificates
Registration lets you hold a practising certificate; it does not replace one. Once you are registered and living in New Zealand, or moving there, you apply for a practising certificate in your scope.
You receive an Interim Practising Certificate first. The Annual Practising Certificate follows once you complete the Mauriora cultural competency courses the Board requires.
Source: mrtboard.org.nz · Policy and Guidelines: Registration · 2026-10-04
The Board’s pages read for this post do not describe supervision arrangements or appeal rights. Ask the Board directly if either matters to your plans.
Accredited Employer Work Visa approvals in our occupations
Unit: applications approved
| Category | Approved, 1 Jul 2022 to 3 Sep 2026 |
|---|---|
| Physiotherapist | 633 |
| Medical diagnostic radiographer | 245 |
| Anaesthetic technician (nearest equivalent to ODP) | 126 |
| Occupational therapist | 120 |
| Social worker | 74 |
| Medical laboratory technician | 66 |
| Medical laboratory scientist | 63 |
| Speech language therapist | 40 |
| Podiatrist | 14 |
Diagnostic radiographers are the second-largest of our occupations in Accredited Employer Work Visa approvals since July 2022, after physiotherapists.
What to do first
- Complete the Board’s Eligible check form
- Confirm Medical Imaging Technologist is the scope that matches your training
- Request a certified copy of your clinical logbook from your college
- Ask your home registering body for a letter of good standing
- Read the Competence Standards before filling in the clinical experience form
- Plan for the Mauriora courses once you are registered
Sources
Every fact above was read on the named page on the date shown beside it. The full list for radiographers is on our sources page, and who decides in New Zealand is on the New Zealand regulators page.
Fees and timelines are not on this page. Choose radiographer and New Zealand in the Route Finder below to see yours.
Quick answers
The short version
Who registers a radiographer in New Zealand?
The Medical Radiation Technologists Board, through its Internationally qualified registration (Medical Imaging Technologist scope of practice).
Which documents do I need to prepare?
The regulator names: Certified qualification certificate(s); Academic transcript; Academic syllabus (curriculum); Clinical logbook (if applicable); One personal and one professional reference; Curriculum vitae.
What is the application measured against?
The regulator names: Competence Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand.
What English language evidence is needed?
All registration applicants must meet the Board’s English language requirements through one of four pathways: a Board-accredited qualification; English first language with the primary qualification taught and assessed solely in English in a recognised country; qualifying registered practice in a recognised country with two senior referees; or a Board-approved test.
What happens after the regulator decides?
Registered practitioners must hold a practising certificate in the appropriate scope; an Interim Practising Certificate is issued first and an Annual Practising Certificate follows once the required Mauriora cultural competency courses are completed.
What we do
How Credentis Global helps with this route
You trained. We file. The regulator decides. Here is what that means for a radiographer in New Zealand.
Prepared to your own board’s standard
In New Zealand each profession has its own board. we prepare the file to that board’s published standard and in its own terms.
Every document, in the order the regulator reads it
Each item is checked against the regulator’s own list: names matched to your passport, hours in writing, copies certified by the person the list names.
One portal, and a person who answers
Upload your documents, see every stage of the file and message us in one place. The person who replies is the specialist preparing your file.
We prepare and file. The regulator decides.
Your application goes in from your own regulator account with every page prepared, and every query is drafted against the regulator’s exact question.
One specialist owns your file
The specialist who reads your documents builds the file and answers the regulator’s queries. You always know who has it, and you pay the regulator directly.
