Immigration advisors and lawyers are sounding a warning after several work visa holders have been denied onward flights to New Zealand from transit ports lately.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) say they have issued border alerts against several people holding Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) following ongoing investigations against employers who might be involved in visa fraud. 

Immigration law specialist Alastair McClymont has called out the way such denials are being enforced. “They created a policy scheme that enabled massive numbers of job tokens to be sold to innocent victims on the black market in India,” says immigration law specialist Alastair McClymont.

“But rather than the minister take responsibility for the failure, he has instead placed all the blame on others, and instructed INZ to punish the victims.”

A work visa holder from Bhopal in central India, who requested not to be named, was barred from boarding his onward flight to Auckland from Singapore on October 1.

“I spent nearly $3,000 on the flights from Delhi,” his Auckland-based brother told The Indian Weekender. 

“The moment he got off the flight after landing in Singapore, a few officials turned up with a list of seven names. They asked a few questions and said some of the travellers won’t be allowed to travel further.”

The man in question, in his 30s, was travelling to work for a logistics service provider on an AEWV issued to him September 7, 2023, more than three weeks after the first lot of stranded migrants were found in Auckland. 

“If they had decided to not let him enter, they [INZ] could have at least informed either him or his company in advance.”

Immigration officials are in the middle of a widening inquiry after at least 140 migrants who arrived on AEWV were found living across Auckland in squalor and without a job over the last two months.

Ever since, INZ officials have placed a border alert on as many as 573 offshore AEWV holders due to their employers being linked to an investigation.

“These individuals have border alerts so we can ensure they do not board a flight and come to New Zealand until such time as their employment has been verified,” INZ’s National Manager Border Peter Elms told The Indian Weekender.

When asked specifically if immigration have a process for informing visa holders in advance about the border alerts, INZ said, “To protect the integrity of our investigations, we won’t be commenting further on the specifics or people and employers involved.”

Pawandeep Singh of Auckland-based Kiwiana Immigration and Education says his advisors have been experiencing “vague behaviour” from INZ officials. 

“They are making calls to clients for the purpose of interviewing them, but as per the feedback we have got, it is more like an interrogation rather than clarifying the queries.”

Singh points out some are getting interview calls after their visa has been approved, “which is highly questionable!” 

“One of our client was returned back from NZ airport as border officer was not satisfied on some concerns. Another was not allowed to board a flight to NZ from Fiji, as INZ is of the opinion that there has been discrepancy in the information supplied while he was intervieed for AEWV in comparison to visitor visa application that he lodged. 

“Question here is, why was he approved with AEWV if INZ had concerns? Why was he not stopped at the port of departure? It is so painful for the genuine candidates who made a decision to travel to New Zealand by resigning from their current jobs.”