In New Zealand, immigration advisers are warning about the extent of jobs that are being "sold" overseas to qualify migrants for visas. Two accredite
In New Zealand, immigration advisers are warning about the extent of jobs that are being “sold” overseas to qualify migrants for visas. Two accredited employers have been reported to Immigration New Zealand (INZ), which is carrying out checks on a sample of businesses. The latest allegations concern agents allegedly charging for the six-month recovery visa, which is designed to provide workers and specialists to deal with the summer’s extreme weather events. INZ figures show that a quarter of those visas were being declined or withdrawn.
Since it was announced in February, 1926 people have applied for the six-month visa. Labourers were the most common role that has been approved with almost 500 migrants, followed by 91 commercial cleaners and 68 carpenters. Three weeks into the programme, only two applications had been declined and 166 approved. But since then, 436 have been rejected or withdrawn, out of 1549 that have been finalised.
Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont last month spoke about widespread fraud in the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme, with overseas agents charging unskilled migrants $40,000 to place them in New Zealand roles. An Indian-based immigration adviser, who asked not to be named for fear of a backlash from other agents, said that was only the start. “Even more shocking is the fact that the recovery visa is being sold as open work visas for over $30,000 by many unlicensed and unscrupulous agents in India and other countries. Many of these agents are also soliciting clients by blatant advertisements on social media.”
In summary, there are concerns that certain jobs are being falsely advertised to attract migrant workers, who are then charged exorbitant amounts of money to obtain visas. This fraudulent activity has prompted Immigration New Zealand to investigate two accredited employers and carry out checks on a sample of businesses.
