Church distances itself from guilty pastor

File photo / Greg Bowker

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Auckland says the pastor who has pleaded guilty to giving immigration advice without a licence is not one of its own.

Kauapi Lutelu Salanoa claimed to be a pastor and a prince from Tuvalu when he pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to six charges of giving immigration advice without a licence.

"While the man named is a member of a church in Avondale, we do not recognise him as a pastor nor is he the pastor of any Seventh-day Adventist church in New Zealand," said the general secretary of the local Seventh-day Adventist church, Ben Timothy.

"The reporting of Mr Lutelu as a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand has reflected very negatively on the church and our pastors."

Lutelu told the Herald he had "helped" more than 200 people, mainly overstayers from the Pacific Island, with immigration matters since 2001 and was a pastor from a Seventh-day Adventist church in Avondale.

Lutelu could be fined up to $100,000 or be imprisoned for up to seven years for giving immigration advice without a licence. Since May last year, those giving immigration advice are required by law to be licensed under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act.

Lutelu is remanded on bail and will reappear next month for sentencing.

"The options available to people unlawfully in New Zealand are often limited," said Simon Laurent, the chairman of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment, an organisation representing licensed advisers, lawyers and other migration practitioners.

"A professional adviser can tell them what they could do.

"It might mean going overseas for a while in order to apply again for a visa, but in the long term, this is far better than throwing money away on bad advice and outright deception."

Immigration New Zealand chief Nigel Bickle says overstayers should also consider approaching the service directly.

"We encourage people to come forward to speak with us at the earliest possible opportunity if they run into difficulties with their immigration status," Mr Bickle said.

"There may be pathways for them to explore for regularising their status.

"We will not know whether such pathways exist until we have the opportunity to talk to them and determine their individual circumstance," he said.