Off the wire
• Chinese shares open mixed Wednesday  • China issues first offshore renminbi note in London  • Market exchange rates in China -- Oct. 21  • Stockholm ATP results  • BHP Billiton records bumper iron ore production in September quarter  • Portuguese opposition Socialists say they're ready to form new gov't  • Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.3473 against USD Wednesday  • Indonesia fighting most massive forest fire with foreign aids  • Japan posts 114.5 bln yen trade deficit in September  • Xinhua world news summary at 0100 GMT, Oct. 21  
You are here: 　 Home

Filipino fraud probe reveals New Zealand visa scam

Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

A woman with dual Filipino-New Zealand nationality has been arrested on charges of helping Filipinos fraudulently acquire visas to work in New Zealand's dairy industry, immigration officials said Wednesday.

The woman, who was not named, was arrested in the Waikato region in the upper North Island Tuesday and charged with three offences under the Crimes Act 1961 and has been given police bail until her first court appearance next on Oct. 27.

Further charges are likely to be laid when she appears in court, according to Immigration New Zealand (INZ).

INZ first became aware of potential issues with applications from some Filipino nationals working on dairy farms in the South Island in February, INZ assistant general manager Peter Elms said in a statement.

"Staff in our Christchurch office noticed discrepancies over qualifications and false claims of work experience," Elms said.

In March, INZ began a formal investigation, which uncovered more widespread concerns of false or misleading information being provided in work visa applications submitted by Filipino nationals.

It is claimed that the woman used New Zealand employers' details without their knowledge in order to secure work visas for Filipino nationals offshore, who were then found other jobs once in the country.

INZ has reviewed all work visa applications from Filipino nationals applying from the Philippines to work in the New Zealand dairy industry in the last 12 months, which highlighted the possibility of this type of scam being more widespread.

INZ had since strengthened its verification processes and was confident that similar offending has been prevented, Elms said.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said he was extremely concerned about the potential scale of the alleged fraud in this case.

"It is absolutely imperative that the integrity of the immigration system is maintained and that visa applicants who have lied on their application forms are not rewarded," Woodhouse said in a statement. Endit