Ministry of Justice

Appeal against Registrar rejecting complaint / dismissed on basis it disclosed only trivial or inconsequential matter / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s34, s45, s54 / unclear if Registrar or investigator made decision dismissing complaint / however, investigation missed critical issues / no evidence of assessment of merits of business plans / visa application appeared to wholly lack merit / no refund provided and contractual refund criteria appear to be inconsistent with Code of Conduct / meets threshold for assessment by Tribunal / adviser will have opportunity to comment in Authority and Tribunal’s next steps / appeal allowed

Sanctions / failed to provide written agreements for two requests for Ministerial intervention / failed to advise applications futile and obtain written consent to continue / failed to work within scope of knowledge and experience / unnecessarily increased fees / failed to provide invoices for work / failed to provide Authority with complete copies of complainant’s immigration matters in her client file / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s48, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014 cl1, cl2a, cl8a, cl9, cl18a, cl20b, cl22, cl26ai, cl26e / HELD / futile applications in order to make money / exploitation of vulnerable migrant / successive futile applications affected complainant’s credibility to request discretionary visa / aggravated by extensive disciplinary history / adviser censured / $8,000 fine / $3,900 refund / prohibited from reapplying for licence for maximum period of two years

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl3a, cl8a, cl13a, cl13c, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal / adviser engaged by employer and some of its employees to conduct job checks and assist with visa applications / continued to advise employer and an employee without required supervision under provisional license, amounting to deceptive misrepresentation of licence status / failed to provide client files to Authority upon request / failed to provide employer written services agreement / provided invoices to employer without particularising services rendered / failed to inform employer of suspension and offer refund for uncompleted services / failed to maintain relationship of confidence and trust with employer / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Sanctions / adviser failed to disclose and obtain written consent to a conflict of interest and charged excessive fee / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl4(a), cl5, cl6, cl17b, cl18b, cl19l and cl20a / adviser found to be in breach of eight professional standards / undisclosed conflict and excessive fee identified as moderately serious / fee of approximately $14,000 deemed grossly excessive / fee reflected a lack of appreciation of setting a reasonable fee in New Zealand market / conflict of interest did not provide undisclosed financial advantage to adviser and had no detriment to client / adviser’s first appearance / reputational damage from earlier decision not significant factor in context of adviser’s retirement before publication / adviser censured and fined $3,000

Sanctions / adviser failed to provide written services agreement for subsequent work visa application /  failed to inform client upon her licence being suspended / client later discovered no subsequent application had been made / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl3a, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl13c, c14, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / adviser found to be in breach of 12 professional standards / most serious breaches were lack of services agreement and adviser’s continued, albeit inadequate, representation of client following suspension / misconduct aggravated by failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal, alongside disciplinary history comprising 95 breaches of the Code across seven complaints, with dishonesty involved in six complaints / adviser censured, fined $2,500 (reflecting totality of parallel proceedings), and ordered to refund fee of $1,540 to client  

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly informed complainant that visa application had been made and was under assessment by INZ / dishonestly advised complainant that interim visa had been issued and she was not overstaying / filed s 61 request for discretionary visa without instructions / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl22, cl26e / adviser found to be dishonest and in breach of 12 professional standards / gravity of adviser’s misconduct assessed as medium to high level / seven separate complaints upheld against adviser, six involving dishonesty / adviser’s belated explanation of personal events and health issues accepted to impact advisory capabilities but do not explain or justify lying to complainant / accepted advisor was provisionally licensed at time of misconduct / further order preventing reapplication of licence proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing and in public interest / …

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly filed application on behalf of client for tourism or holiday visa rather than work visa sought by client / subsequently provided client a fabricated work visa decline letter from INZ / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl18a, cl22, cl26a, cl26b, cl26d / adviser dishonest in two respects and breached 12 professional standards / gravity of adviser’s wrongdoing at upper end of serious given dishonest / conduct aggravated by adviser’s failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal over prolonged period / adviser’s explanation of conduct did not acknowledge dishonesty finding nor apologise to complainant / four other dishonesty complaints upheld / further order preventing reapplication of licence proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing and in public interest / adviser censured and fined $4,000 (reduced from $8,000 to reflect totality of six parallel proceedings)

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly offered residency-qualifying job in exchange for substantial payment, breaching seven professional standards / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl18a, cl26e / gravity of adviser’s misconduct at upper end of serious / adviser’s actions, involving creation of fake job, amounted to immigration scam / such conduct compromises the integrity of the immigration system and undermines public trust / conduct aggravated by adviser’s failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal over prolonged period / expression of remorse belated and assessed in context of deliberate fraud / cancellation, a sanction of last resort, proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing and in public interest / adviser’s licence cancelled / prohibited from reapplying for licence for maximum period of two years / fined $4,000 (reduced from $8,000 to reflect totality of five parallel proceedings)

Appeal against Registrar rejecting complaint / immigration lawyer alleged adviser used copyrighted materials from third party organisations in contractual terms and conditions and various professional practice documents published on his website / Registrar rejected complaint under s 45 as there was no evidence of potential copyright infringement / Authority did not believe it nor Tribunal were correct organisations to make determinations as to copyright infringement / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s45, s442 / potential breaches of copyrighted materials without consent do not fall within statutory definition of immigration advice / no client nor immigration matter / matters fall outside statutory complaint and disciplinary process / matters may be investigated as part of considering fitness of person for licensing albeit not be subject of complaint / immaterial that copyright holders have not complained or commenced proceedings in other fora / appeal rejected

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl4(a), cl5, cl6, cl17b, cl19l and cl20a / adviser failed to send draft application to client before filing with INZ / relied on recruitment company to review application with client / failed to obtain written authority from client to disclose personal information to recruiting company / assurance from third party that it has authority from client insufficient / failed to explain professional obligations and significant matters in agreement / failed to disclose conflict of interest / tripartite agreement with recruitment company created potential conflict which required disclosure and client’s written consent / adviser’s fees excessive / application was uncomplicated and did not warrant fee significantly beyond market range / ‘no win, no fee’ model lawful but did not justify steep elevation in fee / exploitive fee / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Appeal against Registrar rejecting complaint / complaint adviser misled appellant by stating he was eligible for NZ job market, overestimating eligibility for resident visa / complaint adviser deceived him into believing that being “eligible” for resident visa  would enable him to secure employment / complaint adviser did not provide clear, documented advice about limits of eligibility / complaint regarding job search dismissed as undertaken by a different person in a different company under a separate contract / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s45, s442 / appellant misunderstood advice provided by adviser / adviser did not communicate he was entitled to such visa / adviser explained that further steps would “enhance” eligibility / rejection from employers due to lack of work visa is a reflection of job market / regulatory breaches discovered did not justify disciplinary action / appeal rejected

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl3a, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl13c, c14, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal / adviser failed to provide client evidence of being licensed / failed to provide written services agreement / failed to provide invoice / failed to act under direct supervision of supervisor under conditions of provisional licence / failed to inform client of being provisionally licensed / failed to inform client when her licence was suspended and provide a refund / failed to provide Authority client file / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow.

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / dishonesty / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl22, cl26e / adviser dishonestly informed complainant a visa application had been made and was under assessment by INZ / dishonestly advised complainant that interim visa had been issued and she was not overstaying / filed s 61 request for discretionary visa without instructions / falsely informed complainant only agent could contact INZ regarding application / failed to carry out and acted contrary to complainant’s instructions / failed to explain significant matters in agreement, professional responsibilities owed and complaints procedure / failed to act under direct supervision of supervisor under conditions of provisional licence / failed to inform client of being provisionally licensed and provide evidence of licence / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow