Conned immigrant finds justice

A man hoping to work in New Zealand who was conned out of his life savings by an immigration consultancy has had them returned. File photo / NZ Herald

A man hoping to work in New Zealand has had his life savings returned after being conned out of them by an immigration consultancy.

The man's niece, Na Jia, made a complaint to the Immigration Advisers Authority when she discovered he had been charged $20,000 by Sea Consultants and Investments Limited for help to obtain a work visa.

The man wanted to work in New Zealand as a chef to support his daughter through university, Ms Jia said.

A $20,000 fee is four times Sea Consultants' standard $5000 fee and 17 times the industry median of $1150.

The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal said the fee was likely to be an attempt to overcharge a naive person, or to induce an employer to provide a job.

The tribunal found Sea Consultants had forged the signature of its only licensed immigration advisor, Wei Wang, on the man's visa application, and provided him with a fake contract.

Ms Wang was struck off by the tribunal last week for failing to supervise staff correctly and failing to address the situation when she became aware of it.

She was ordered to pay a penalty of $2000 and was prevented from re-applying for an immigrant adviser's license for two years.

"The most concerning aspect of Ms Wang's conduct was her failure to intervene when she knew the uncle had been grossly overcharged," the tribunal stated.

Immigration Advisers Authority registrar Barry Smedts said the case illustrated the need for migrants to complain if they felt they had been misled.

"This case saw a man's life savings being restored to him after complaining to us," Mr Smedts said.

"Migrants who have been mistreated have a clear choice: They can fill out a simple four-page complaints form and have a chance of getting their money back, or they can remain silent and bear the loss."