New Zealand immigration allows loophole immigrant to stay
May 19 2009 by Robbie Ragless
An Indian man who moved to New Zealand after gaining a fake job offer from National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi has been told he will be allowed to stay in the country.
The case was discovered when the MP was investigated after making several fake job offers to support visa applications made by people who had paid cash to a New Zealand immigration agent.
At the time of the case a loophole existed which didn’t require immigrants, who had gained visas based on job offers, to ever take the jobs offered to them.
The immigrant paid NZ$2,500 to an immigration agent and moved to New Zealand in 2003 after which he never met or worked for Mr Bakshi, a fact he eventually admitted to New Zealand immigration officials after questioning.
The loophole was closed in late 2003 and immigrants are now required to take up the employment offered to them and must stay in the job for at least three months to avoid having their New Zealand visa revoked.
The case has since been closed due to insufficient evidence. Mr Bakshi says he had no idea the job offer he made was linked to a visa stating, “I offered someone [a job] and they did not turn up. I was never informed they got a visa or anything like that."
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