“We are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally and in the comity of nations we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of the man and society.”
Dr Vikram Sarabhai, on the purpose of India's space programme, quoted by ISRO
Sarabhai was talking about rockets, but the sentence is a good description of a welder's trade too: advanced technique applied to a real problem, and second to none in the doing of it. Welding is one of the few trades where the gap between an ordinary wage and a good one is closed by something you can go and do this month. Not a degree, not a contact, not luck. A test, witnessed, on a coupon you cut yourself. Most Indian welders who are underpaid abroad are underpaid because nobody told them which test to take.
Sources: ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX and AWS D1.1 for position and performance qualification; ISO 9606-1 for welder qualification testing; Ministry of External Affairs ECR and ECNR categories for the two-year NCVT or SCVT diploma route. Checked August 2026. Codes are revised periodically, so work to the edition your employer names.
What employers abroad are actually buying
An overseas employer is not hiring "a welder". They are hiring someone qualified to join a particular material, at a particular thickness, in a particular position, by a particular process, to a code their client's inspector will check. Every one of those is a line on a certificate. When a recruiter asks what you are certified in and you answer with a number of years, you have already been put in the lower band.
| What decides the band | Weak answer | Strong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Position | "All positions" | 6G on pipe, tested and witnessed |
| Process | "Arc welding" | SMAW, GTAW, GMAW or FCAW, named |
| Code | Not mentioned | ASME Section IX, AWS D1.1 or ISO 9606-1 |
| Material | "Steel" | Carbon steel, stainless, duplex, alloy |
| Thickness and diameter | Not mentioned | The range your test qualified |
| Who witnessed it | The employer who trained you | A third-party inspection body |
| Evidence | An experience letter | The certificate and the test report |
Why 6G is the one people talk about
Welding positions are graded by how awkward they are. Flat is easiest. The pipe tests are harder because the pipe does not turn, so you weld uphill, overhead and horizontal in one continuous joint. 6G is the pipe test with the pipe fixed at 45 degrees, which forces you through every one of those in a single coupon.
That is why it carries weight: under the qualification rules, passing the hardest position covers the easier ones, within the thickness and diameter limits your test actually established. A welder with a witnessed 6G is making a claim an inspector can check, and it is the single most useful thing an Indian welder can add before applying abroad.
Which code, and where
- ASME Section IX governs procedure and performance qualification for pressure work, and is what most Gulf oil, gas, refinery and pressure-vessel employers test against.
- AWS D1.1 is the structural steel welding code, and turns up on buildings, bridges and fabrication yards.
- ISO 9606-1 is the international standard for qualification testing of welders on steels, and is the one European employers most often name.
You do not need all three. You need the one your destination's employers actually ask for, which is a good question to put to a recruiter early, and a good test of whether they know the trade they are recruiting for.
What to sort out before you apply
- Get your existing certificates together and read the limits on each. Most welders have never looked at the thickness and diameter ranges on their own paper.
- Identify the gap. Usually it is position, and usually the answer is a 6G pipe test.
- Ask which code the destination uses before booking a test, so you qualify against the right one.
- Check your ITI diploma. A two-year NCVT or SCVT trade diploma is one of the categories that qualifies you for a Non-ECR passport, which removes a whole stage from your paperwork and is missed by a great many welders who left school before Class 10.
- Keep a photographed set of certificates, test reports and safety cards on your phone and emailed to yourself.
- Expect a trade test at or before selection. Employers hiring welders test them, and being ready for that is worth more than any wording on a CV.
On pay, honestly
We are not going to print a salary figure here. Welding pay abroad moves with the code, the position, the material, the sector, the country and the year, and a number written once on a web page is out of date by the time most people read it. What is reliably true is the direction: certification, position and third-party witnessing move you up a band, and years alone do not.
For what is actually open right now, with the real terms attached, look at current openings rather than any figure quoted in a forwarded message. And before paying anyone anything, run the offer through the twelve checks.
Where Disha fits, honestly
Disha Global Workforce recruits candidates with Non-ECR passports and a minimum qualification of 10+2, for the countries we actually serve in the Gulf, Southeast Asia and parts of Europe. We work under the authorisation of a licensed Recruiting Agent.
For welders specifically, the most useful thing we can do before you apply anywhere is read your existing certificates and tell you which single test would move you up a band. That is a short conversation and it is often worth more than the application itself. If we have nothing suitable open, we will say so.
Send us your welding certificates
Photograph what you hold. We will tell you which positions and codes you are qualified for, and which one test would change your band.
Frequently asked questions
What is 6G welding and why does it matter abroad?
6G is the pipe test with the pipe fixed at 45 degrees, so the welder works uphill, overhead and horizontal in one continuous joint. It matters because qualifying in the hardest position covers the easier ones, within the thickness and diameter limits your test established, so a witnessed 6G is a claim an inspector can check. It is usually the single most useful certification an Indian welder can add before applying overseas.
Which welding code should I certify against?
It depends on the destination and the sector. ASME Section IX covers procedure and performance qualification for pressure work and is what most Gulf oil, gas and refinery employers test against. AWS D1.1 is the structural steel code. ISO 9606-1 is the international welder qualification standard European employers most often name. Ask which one the employer uses before booking a test.
Do my years of experience count for nothing?
They count, but they do not set your band. Overseas employers hire against what you are qualified to weld, in which position, by which process, to which code, because a client's inspector will check exactly those lines. Years of experience with no witnessed qualification usually places a welder in a lower band than a less experienced welder who holds the test.
Is a certificate from my own employer good enough?
Often not. A test carried out and signed off by the workshop that employs you carries limited weight with a client's inspector abroad. Where you can, take the test with a recognised third-party inspection body and keep the test report as well as the certificate. Anyone offering to sell a certificate without a test is offering you something to carry onto a site where the weld holds pressure.
I left school before Class 10 but have an ITI welding diploma. Can I still go?
Very possibly, and this is missed constantly. A two-year diploma from the National Council for Vocational Training or a State Council for Vocational Training is one of the categories that qualifies you for a Non-ECR passport in its own right, independent of matriculation. Take the original diploma to the Passport Seva Kendra with your reissue application.
This article describes welding qualification practice as it stood on 30 August 2026 and is general information, not technical or legal advice. Codes are revised periodically and employer requirements differ by country, sector and client. Always work to the code and edition your employer names.