Welcome to this new regular Immigration column which I will be writing for you once a fortnight. I aim to interest you with commentary on what's going on out there in the Immigration world, as well as informing you about numerous Immigration policies, procedures and case studies.

Just to give you a brief background, I have over 10 years of working in the NZ Immigration industry. Shortly after starting as a Visa Officer at Immigration New Zealand (then known as the ‘New Zealand Immigration Service’) more than 10 years ago, I knew I had found my passion in life.

I held several positions of responsibility within my profession including serving as a Visa Officer, Immigration Officer and Business Advisor with Immigration New Zealand.

I also assisted during the arrival of the ‘Tampa Refugees’ in 2001 for which I was awarded the Ministerial Certificate of Recognition.

After several years of working for the Government Department I saw an opportunity to assist people by bringing my skills to the private sector.

I started five years back with Global Visas, an Immigration firm in Auckland and have never looked back! During these last five years, I have helped numerous victims of Immigration fraud, overstayers, clients with some highly complex cases and general Immigration matters.

Global Visas itself has been in business from the same central-city premises for almost  14 years and has represented thousands of people to live, work and study in New Zealand. 

I like to think that what sets me and Global Visas apart from many other Immigration businesses is our empathy for clients, the ability to think outside the box and our knowledge of Immigration policies and procedures, inside out, back to front!

Immigration Industry in New Zealand has been non-regulated in the past which means that there have been numerous instances of unsuspecting migrants being scammed by fly-by-night operators and cowboys operating in this industry.

Fortunately, The Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 which promotes and protects the interests of people receiving immigration advice is coming into effect on 4 May 2009. This will make it mandatory for anyone giving Immigration Advise or representing a client’s application to be registered with the NZ Immigration Advisor’s Authority.

The Immigration Advisers Licensing Act’s stated purpose is “to promote and protect the interests of consumers receiving immigration advice, and to enhance the reputation of New Zealand as a migration destination, by providing for the regulation of persons who give immigration advice.”

Under the Act, anyone giving immigration advice about New Zealand must be licensed (unless they are exempt). It also makes it an offence to provide immigration advice without a licence and provides large fines and imprisonment for unlicensed agents. Penalties include a maximum of seven years' imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, or both.

Migrants need to know they will be provided with the correct and best information, whether they receive it directly from Immigration New Zealand or from an Adviser.

Making immigration advisers a licensed, recognised profession will protect people from being seriously disadvantaged through poor advice or unprofessional behaviour. It will also protect advisers, helping to ensure that they give their clients sound advice and professional service. The law also supports new continuing professional development programmes and recognition of their work as a regulated profession.

We welcome these new Registration requirements and look forward to operating in the regulated industry.

I look forward to hearing from you and welcome any questions, comments or suggestions you might have to make this blog more interesting and user friendly.

Apurva Khetarpal
Global Visas Ltd
ph: 09 358-0018
021 2564076
apurva@globalvisas.co.nz