Big money in immigration fraud

Immigration fraud has increased this year, bringing a huge rise in the number of convictions, says Associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor.

He said that at the end of May, 181 charges had been laid, up 65 per cent on the same time the previous year.

The number of convictions jumped from 16 to 143 in 12 months.

"We're not just talking petty fraud here," Mr O'Connor said in a speech prepared for a conference of the Immigration Service's fraud unit.

"The seriousness of the offending is evidenced by cases such as the Chinese national who recently paid $50,000 for an arranged marriage and then provided NZIS [the Immigration Service] with false information about his relationship in an effort to gain residency."

Mr O'Connor said others had paid between $6000 and $8000 for false documents and up to $100,000 for residency.

"Investigations found that between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of job checks and 50 per cent of marriage checks referred to the [fraud] unit could not be substantiated."

The big increase in prosecutions might reflect improved vigilance and improved systems as much as a rise in offending, said Mr O'Connor.

It was not happening only in New Zealand, he told the conference.

"Figures for last year put a worldwide profit figure of US$10 billion [$15.6 billion] a year on immigration fraud, second only to narcotics and arms dealing.

"It's a burgeoning, and very profitable, industry."

Mr O'Connor praised the work of Customs and Immigration officials, and criticised Auckland Airport.

"The conditions our staff are working under at that airport are deplorable," he said.

"Auckland International Airport is now a private company that is in the privileged position of controlling approximately 80 per cent of the people going in and out of this country.

"If the public expect, as they do, Immigration and Customs to protect our border ... then we need better facilities on site."

Mr O'Connor said ministers and the airport's board would meet soon to sort out the problem.

- NZPA