Australian Immigration agent scam uncovered in Melbourne

October 30 2009 by Liam Clifford

Migration agents in Melbourne have been caught issuing clients with bogus paperwork in order to secure Australian visas.

A group of migration agents said to be linked to organised crime are running Melbourne's booming black-market in forged student paperwork, federal investigators have said.

The ten registered Australian immigration agents are responsible for a team of seven unregistered "middle men" who then sell the bogus qualifications and work experience docs to students. The students are then using them to make applications for permanent residency in Australia.

Australian immigration officials are calling it the "template scam".

The immigration agents simply buy letterheads and blank certificates in from under hand trade schools or work-places for less than $1000 each, the middle men then fill them out, and selling them to the students for $5,000-$15,000.

The scam was discovered after an investigation by the Australian Immigration Department. An immigration spokesperson said of the scam “..the size and complexity was without precedent".

2500 international students have already used fake documents to obtain Australian visas in Melbourne this year alone. Immigration officials have said that up to 5000 visas might be cancelled within the next six months, because they were issued with illegal paperwork. The Australian visa holders would then either be deported or detained.

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