New Zealand: 34 members of the Immigration staff in New Zealand have been taken into investigations for their improper behavior as they have been speculated to have their connections with fraud cases.
According to Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman, it was on August 16 when 32 staff members were taken into investigation for their wrong conduct. Now two fresh investigations have added into the category of suspects, making the count to 34.
Out of the 34 allegations, 16 of them are present in various branch offices located all over the globe and rest are present in New Zealand branch. As far as the statistics from last one year are concerned, 60 such allegations have been faced by the immigration officials regarding various cases linked with fraud and corruption. 10 out of them were substantiated while 23 went through thorough investigation. 27 of them went unsubstantiated.
Out of the seven immigration officers who were sacked, six of them were based in New Zealand, while the other worked in New Delhi.
According to Labour’s immigration spokesman Pete Hodgson, it is extremely disappointing that immigration officials are facing these kind of allegations related with fraud and corruptions. He further added that he is not satisfied with robust checking system of the country.
In addition, it has been confirmed that a lot of work has been done in the direction of setting clear standards of conduct and behavior.
It is being planned by the New Zealand government to grant interim visas to all those foreigners who have been living in the nation on residential permits which have expired. This way they could continue to reside in the nation while they could submit new applications and are being considered in the meantime. As per the present rules, those immigrants living in the nation on either work permits or residential permits; these permits tend to expire automatically as soon as visa expires.
According to Jonathan Coleman, the Immigration Minister for New Zealand, this visa been brought about as a part of the New Immigration legislation. This would be implemented for the applicants to obtain from November in this year itself. He also said that a new program for sponsorship which would enable the various governmental departments as well as the organizations to sponsor foreign migrants under the rules of the Talent and Visitor policies. This would also cater to the needs of the sponsorship as well as those of the stakeholders.
This would be a huge alleviation for all the foreign migrants residing in the country of New Zealand. This is because this would enable them to work on a temporary basis after their visa has expired. In the process, a new application could be filed. This would make it much easier for these migrants.
About 34 Immigration officials from New Zealand deployed locally as well as overseas have been accused of fraud and corruption and are under investigation for wrongful conduct. This has come about after the termination of seven immigration officials this year. Of these, three of the officials were involved in the processing of the visas.
According to Jonathan Coleman, the Immigration Minister for New Zealand, about 32 allegations are being investigations by the department. These investigations are looking into the conduct and performance of the immigration staff. With this, two new allegations have come to surface.
Of the above, about 18 allegations are associated with the officials deployed in New Zealand. Another 16 of the staff members who are alleged to be involved are stationed at the branch offices abroad.
In the last one year, about sixty allegations pertaining to corruption, dishonesty and fraud have been charged on immigration officials. Of these, 10 allegations were confirmed where as another twenty seven were not proved. The rest twenty three are still under the process of investigation. Of the seven officials who were sacked on charges of misconduct, six were based in New Zealand while one of officials was in New Delhi.
As per Nigel Bickle, the spokesman for Immigration New Zealand, most of the cases here pertained to a conflict of interest along with the non-disclosure of interests when it came to the applications of friends and family. It requires a lot of work in order to clear and bring about clear standards of behavior and conduct.
New Zealand: It has been confirmed that the new scheme to lure wealthy immigrants to New Zealand is turning to be a flop show as it is proving a lot more difficult to attract wealthy immigrants to retire to the land of Kiwis.
As far as the statistics are concerned, it has been proved that the new scheme implemented in the month of March has only managed to lure 12 applicants. This in itself is a disappointing figure to portray.
The Labour has confirmed that the new scheme has turned out to be a huge flop. As far as this scheme was concerned, it was launched to bring economical favors to the country. It was meant for the enhancement of the land of Kiwis but with only 12 people attracted towards this scheme, you don’t have much to get! The same has been confirmed by Labour’s Immigration spokes person Pete Hodgson.
But when the reaction of government is seen, it seems they are pleased with the figures. ,” Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman has stated that the starting has been encouraging and it is much head of what the previous government achieved.
But the Labour has confirmed that this scheme has not worked till now. In addition, the government ahs also said that the conditions would be made tougher and tougher in the upcoming times.
As reported before (http://blog.abhinav.com/new-zealand-and-australia-into-fingerprints-sharing-agreement/), the immigration authority of Australia has started exchanging and sharing the fingerprinting information with the land of Kiwis. The step has been taken in order to present the arrival of undocumented workers and applicants to barge into the country. Also, the step would prevent applicants make use of fake travel documents while traveling between both the countries.
Also, is reports are to be believed, this policy is likely to expand to other nations like US, UK and Canada as a part of what is called as the Five Country Conference (FCC). Also, this will help the immigration authorities find out those people who are resifting in the nations under the refugee status.
Refugees hardly have the correct documents. In addition, they lack apt identification papers, which confuse the immigration authorities to know about their immigration status and country of origin. Under the policy, the information would not be shared with anyone out of the nations who are a part of FCC policy.
This information would further be used to gather all the biometric knowledge about people who would be suspected to have their connection with false or undocumented status. Also, those suspected to hold relations with the crime world would be scrutinized too.
NZ has confirmed that it has almost 4,7000 fingerprints present on the database, which would further be shared countries in FCC policy. The step would prevent illegal immigration in future in a major way.
According to Immigration New Zealand, it has been confirmed that the backlog of thousands of student visa applications have been cleared after the same was ordered by the Minister.
As far as the stats are concerned, the commencement of July saw a backlog of 5500 applications as it has been claimed by the department that the same has been accumulated, courtesy the some really bad planning as well as after two peak application periods.
Also, some applicants have to wait a long as for three months to have their applications processed and hence the orders were given by the Immigration minister to clear all the pending applications by the end of July.
It is the mid of August now, but Nigel Bickle, who is the chief executive at Immigration New Zealand, it has been confirmed that till now only 200 visa application are awaiting their approval.
He has also confirmed and told the Minister that Immigration New Zealand will soon come out with a much improved plan by the ending of the month September. The plan would be regarding the strategies to make the system more and more efficient.
It is good news for all those prospective students who are intending to study in the land of Kiwis. Those planning to enroll themselves in ace education institutions in NZ are advised to visit http://www.abhinav.com/newzealand-student-visa.htm
Life was beautiful and full of dreams for South African Rhonde Aylward on Friday when she tied the knot with her beloved Mr. Batchelor after her divorce from her previous husband. But things were not as easy for her as she thought as many challenges were waiting for her.
After tying getting married to her boyfriend, Ms. Aylward had to face the reality that she is staying in the New Zealand illegally and could be deported from the country any day. Her marriage with New Plymouth’s Steve Batchelor does not change her immigration status and this means that she can be asked to leave the country any time. Ms.Aylward is a mother of two small kids and she is more concerned about her children than about herself.
In a statement told to the press, she said that she and Mr. Bachelor got married in a simple way surrounded by her friends and family. One of her main concern is that that her current husband is not employed and therefore can not sponsor her residency in New Zealand. According to the laws of New Zealand Immigration, it is mandatory for the partner of the New Zealand resident to seek the permit for residency in the country. However, a partner could sponsor the residency for the person if he meets all the eligibility criteria.
The work permit of Ms.Aylward along with her daughter was for three months which expired last month only. She has applied for residency in the New Zealand immigration department and now she is hoping that her case will be considered by them. She was working with Heatherlea Health Care as a permanent part-timer but due to the expiry of her resident permit, she lost her job as well.
According to news, Immigration New Zealand has recently barred the processing of applications from the overseas applicants intending to nark their study career at Auckland’s Kingsland Institute, which is applauded for its courses in business, cookery, English and IT. In addition to that, some of the already approved applications are also under strict observance, as recently two important men from the institute have been arrested. One of them is the manager who has been taken into custody for committing immigration related scandal.
The arrests happen after two prospective students filed complaints against the manager, Donald Hun, who has been accused of charges which are three in number and have been implemented under the Immigration Act 1987 and Act 2007. It means that he transferred wrong information to the students when he himself was not qualified/licensed to provide immigration related information to the prospective applicants.
Another person from the Kingston Institute, identified as Chheogyal Jah Om Sandyang Lepcha has been accused of providing fake information to the students. It has been confirmed that the crime was performed in October 2009 and March 2010.
According to Nigel Bickle, who is the head of Immigration, they are not sure whether the case holds wider consequences than limited to just these two accused or the mentioned institute. Hence, it is a need to check in order to maintain the integrity of the immigration system.
Therefore, those applicants who have been badly affected due to this scam are advised to make arrangements and consult a Study Visa Expert to have a hassle free future.
New Zealand General Skilled Migrant Program is an uncomplicated and straightforward program, an aspect which should NOT make you believe that it is easier to qualify for the same. The applicants have to keep in mind that not everyone is able to fulfill the mandatory essentials linked with the same as there is a limited list of occupations.
Another facet to keep in mind is that the younger you are, more are your chances to qualify for the same. Having connections with an IT backgrounds adds another cherry to the cake. Therefore a combination of youth and a relation with the field of Information Technology plays a very big role for those prospective immigrants who are intending to move to New Zealand under the General Skilled Migrant Program.
Also, the country is equipped with all the world class facilities and infrastructural amenities that one can ask for. Not to forget the brilliant working environment offered by the land of Kiwis.
The difficulty for New Zealand is that Australia too offers a similar list of occupations. Hence, if an applicant fulfills the requirements associated with the occupation for both the countries (Australia and New Zealand), then because of the size and opportunities offered by the country, Australia holds an upper advantage. Therefore, New Zealand ends up becoming a second choice for immigration.
Despite this fact, there is no denying of the statement that New Zealand is one of the applauded countries to immigrate with brilliant people and amazing environment. The country is especially apt for the youth to start their lives afresh after immigrating to an altogether new country.
Immigration has certainly become an issue of concern for many countries owing to many reasons such as high level of illegal immigration and heavy flow of immigrants into the country taking away the opportunities from the country citizens. And that is why so many countries are taking various measures to ensure legality in the system and spread awareness amongst the countrymen about immigration policies.
New Zealand‘s Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong will be attending the annual Australian Ministerial Council for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs meeting to be held in Melbourne tomorrow. The participation of New Zealand in this meeting will surely going to strengthen the bilateral relations of the country with Australia. Both the countries will be discussing on various issues in relation to immigration. They will also be sharing their ideas and suggestions on how to support the new migrants and foreign-born citizens.
In a statement to the press, she expressed that she has high expectations from this meeting and really looking forward for it. She further said that New Zealand has made a remarkable progress by providing the necessary help to the native New Zealanders (which also includes new migrants) so that they can give their contribution in the progress of the country. Ms. Wong intends to enlighten Australian counterparts about New Zealand’s progress and achievements and would also like to share some points and ideas which would help them to scale new heights of progress.
Both the countries are facing similar problems regarding various issues on immigration and this meeting is surely going to bring benefits to both the countries as they will be discussing various issues and will also be sharing their ideas and suggestions with each other.
