Arrest sparks concern over false work visas

A Waikato woman was arrested over a suspected fraud involving visa applications for Filipinos seeking work in the local dairy industry. Photo / Christine Cornege

Immigration authorities say "widespread concerns" have been raised over false or misleading work visa applications involving Philippines nationals.

The arrest of the woman and the preceding investigation have caused delays to legitimate visa applicants, and sparked concerns about impacts on the dairy industry, the Immigration Minister said.

A Waikato woman was arrested yesterday over a suspected fraud involving visa applications for Filipinos seeking work in the local dairy industry, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said today.

The arrested woman was a joint New Zealand-Philippines national and would be in court on Tuesday.

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

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

An investigation followed in March, focused on the woman.

INZ alleged the woman used local employers' details, without their knowledge, to secure work visas for Filipino nationals to work in the local dairy industry.

INZ said once the applicants arrived in New Zealand, they never worked for the supposedly sponsoring employer.

"After a short period a fresh application was submitted for a new employer. It appears that the actual employers were not aware that the work visas had originally been gained using false employer details," INZ added in a statement.

An INZ spokesman said the arrested woman faced charges of obtaining by deception, altering a document with intent to deceive, and using an altered document with intention to deceive.

All charges related to providing false documents to support a work visa application, he said.

"The investigation has been extensive. INZ needed to gather all the relevant information for a legal case against this person and that has taken a considerable period of time because of the complexity of the case," the spokesman added.

Meanwhile, Federated Farmers said the dairy industry was experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.

"Foreign nationals, like Kiwis, are part of the solution, but this needs to be done in the right way," Federated Farmers Dairy Industry Chair Andrew Hoggard said.

Federated Farmers said it was important INZ had taken "additional measures" to ensure documents submitted in support of visa applications were genuine.

"Federated Farmers is confident that the processing of visa applications will soon return to a normal pace and that with Government support New Zealand's dairy industry can train and attract skilled workers from within this country and overseas."

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said the alleged fraud had impacted some legitimate visa applications from the Philippines.

"I am aware of concerns around delays for visa applications by Filipino workers. However as this investigation has progressed, extra verification has been required and this has resulted in delays in some cases," he said.

Mr Woodhouse said he recognised the potential impact the situation may have on the dairy industry, and he was working with officials to consider options to ensure the sector was not materially affected.

"Any fraud of our immigration system is a very serious matter and I am extremely concerned about the potential scale of the alleged fraud in this case."