Immigration adviser says the practice of rubber stamping is common in China. Photo / File.
Immigration adviser says the practice of rubber stamping is common in China. Photo / File.
A licensed immigration has been censured and fined $7000 and $3000 in two decisions against him by the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal for using unlicensed staff to do his work.
The tribunal found Ryan Yan Ji, had engaged "rubber stamping", where he let unlicensed staff to provide services only a licensed adviser can undertake.
The first complaint involved six Chinese nationals livin gin China for whom Ji was making visa applications to Immigration New Zealand for.
"He had no contact whatsoever with the clients and communicated through a chain with multiple links before the client was reached," tribunal chairman David Plunkett said.
"He was, though, actively involved in preparing the applications and corresponding with INZ."
Immigration adviser allowed unlicensed individuals to provide services that only a licensed immigration adviser should provide. Photo / File.
Plunkett said Ji's mode of rubber stamping "approaches the upper end of the spectrum" and that his misconduct was not an isolated incident.
He also found that four of the six clients produced false documents to INZ.
"While Mr Ji did not do so knowingly, the business structure under which he was prepared to operate significantly enhanced the risk of that occurring," Plunkett said.
Ji was employee of Auckland-based NZ Business Migration Group at the time, which worked with an entity in China known as Globe Group or Globe Visa. He is now a partner of his own firm NZ Immigration Consulting, which has no connection with Globe.
Ji was censured by the tribunal and ordered to pay a penalty of $7000.
In a second complaint, the tribunal also found Ji had allowed unlicensed people to do his work and that he had failed to take personal responsibility for client engagement.
The client, a China national, approached Globe Visa for help to lodge an application for New Zealand residency. Communicating with her through unlicensed staff, Ji completed and lodged the application - but it was declined because the client failed to show that her nominated funds of about $3 million had been earned or acquired legally.
Again, the tribunal found Ji had engaged in rubber stamping.
He was censured and fined $3000.
Plunkett said Ji was treated as a "first offender" in each complaint as he had not previously appeared before the tribunal.
Ji said the practice of rubber stamping was common in China, and in mitigation he asked the tribunal not to order a financial penalty so he could publicise the practice.
He offered to turn his story into a video clip to put on Chinese social media and also organised a seminar among Chinese licensed advisers to share his story.
Ji hope his "community service" would create greater awareness among the Chinese on the importance of the licensed advisers' code and engaging directly with licensed advisers.
