People have been found to be staying in Indonesia too long paying their landlord’s rent in makeshift sheds and in a dilapidated caravan in west Auckland.
Although they had visas to come to New Zealand, an employer hired them to paint structures and paid them in cash.
A former immigration minister is outraged that the government does not appear to be investigating either the employer or the owner for possible exploitation.
In an email read by the Herald, a New Zealand immigration (INZ) official said he had spoken to four potential whistleblowers about the number of people overstaying.
“In our view, what we have been told constitutes a serious breach necessary for criminal exploitation,” the email said.
“We believe the plaintiffs were paid in money and had an employment contract, but for the most part, they were paid above minimum wage and were happy with their employer,” the email said.
The shed was built from plywood discarded by the citizens. Photo/Dean Purcell
Tuariki Delamere, an immigration adviser and former immigration minister, criticized INZ’s “attitude” and demanded that police be spoken to about the issue.
“Landlords who house immigrant workers in leaky plywood shacks will be prosecuted and homes confiscated by police as proceeds of criminal activity,” he said.
“When employers are prosecuted, they know they can get away with exploiting migrant staff who have overstayed.
“If this is the case with INZ, what sense does it make to insist that it is illegal for employers to hire a user with a valid visa and rights of movement?”
What Immigration Laws Say
By law, New Zealand businesses have a legal obligation that other people who rent have the right to paint for them.
Employers who exploit face up to seven years of criminal conviction and/or a $100,000 fine.
Hendra Adijaya has been in New Zealand illegally for over 3 years. Photo/Dean Purcell
If the employer knew that the employee did not have the right to work, they could be fined up to $50,000 or $10,000 if this wisdom is demonstrated.
Delamere said receiving the minimum wage means migrant staff are exploited.
“If you come from a country where wages are only 25 per cent of New Zealand’s minimum wage, then of course the migrant who stays longer is content to work for New Zealand’s minimum wage,” Delamere said.
“New Zealanders refuse to work for abusive wages, so corrupt employers are content to hire others who have overstayed the time allowed knowing full well that INZ will not prosecute them for intentionally and knowingly breaking the law. “
An investigation by the Herald in September found that up to six other people who had stayed longer in Indonesia had been living for four years in a plywood shed, a birdhouse and a dilapidated trailer at an asset in New Windsor.
The Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa
This is the latest in a shocking list of cases of foreigners living in inhumane conditions.
They cannot apply for the Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV) or any type of government assistance as they are not legally in New Zealand.
A VPM is valid for six months and would allow the holder to work in New Zealand for any employer.
In September, the government announced the transitory nature of these migrant workers.
The package included motel accommodations, which cost approximately $220 per user per week in living expenses in the form of a payment card.
However, this does not apply to other people who have overstayed the overstay and those who are in New Zealand illegally, such as Indonesians.
A report by the Foundation for Assistance to the Exploitation of Migrants (MERF) indicates that those who overstayed others escaped abusive boating situations on foreign fishing boats.
Most have been visa-free in New Zealand for more than 3 years.
To live in their makeshift shelters, others who stayed too long say they paid a landlady a weekly rent of $125.
The Chinese woman, who lived in the main house, told the Herald that she collected rent on behalf of her son.
Migrant employee Hendra Adijaya stands in the back of 19 Bollard Ave New Windsor, where Indonesian migrant staff in sheds were made out of plywood from a structure. Photo/Dean Purcell
One of the occupiers, 49-year-old Hendra Adijaya, said he built the shed out of discarded plywood he salvaged from a site.
The hangar wasn’t insulated and on bloodless nights “I seemed to be living in Antarctica,” he said.
Adijaya said that when it rains, the roof leaks.
Auckland City Council is not aware of the structures or living situations prior to the publication of the Herald.
As a result of our report, the council visited the assets and issued the owner a repair order.
The owner gave 3 months to remove the shed and other unauthorized structures.
Operational research
Stephanie Greathead, INZ’s national head of immigration investigations, said a threshold has to be reached to say there was exploitation of immigrants.
However, the company would examine the employer’s overall situation, not just whether it exploits immigrants.
Greathead said he meant that employers who rent to others who overstay will not be investigated if staff are satisfied with their working conditions.
“MBIE, not just INZ, investigates employers for a number of other reasons, including whether workers have complained or are dissatisfied with their operating conditions,” he said.
“Employers and those who fail to do so have a duty to comply with New Zealand law, and if this falls within the jurisdiction of the MBIE, we will investigate. “
Greathead reiterated that only those who are legally in New Zealand can apply for an MEPV.
However, he said there are paths illegal immigrants can take and encouraged them to contact INZ or seek the recommendation of an immigration counselor.
In the email seen by the Herald, INZ said it had contacted those who had overstayed and recommended that they contact an immigration adviser to apply for a Section 61 visa.
Section 61 of the Immigration Act gives the Minister for Immigration an obligation to grant a visa of any kind to a user who is in New Zealand illegally and who may be deported.
Arunima Dhingra, president of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment, said this is not the answer to the problem.
“A Section 61 application is a complex job, and in most cases, the other people who have overstayed the overtime will not be able to count on an immigration representative or attorney to help them through the process,” he said.
Dhingra said amnesty for those who overstayed required a delicate balance.
“We cannot be seen as a country that allows those who deliberately started on the foot to get a rewarded visa status,” he said.
“However, we will also need to ensure that those who have become illegal immigrants because of cases unrelated to them receive amnesty and that agencies have provisions to deal with them. “
Arunima Dhingra, President of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment. Photo/Alex Burton
Dhingra said the employer would be responsible for employing personnel who did not have the legal right to paint in the country.
“Surely it’s appropriate for the government to dust itself off at such a scenario when it knows [people are working] illegally,” Dhingra said.
“What action is MBIE taking against companies that clearly violate employment law, hire to other people without an employment contract and, most importantly, employ staff who are not legally allowed to work in New Zealand?”
The Work Visa Program for Accredited Employers
At the same time, several investigations are underway on Americans related to scams that promote fake job offers to immigrants who obtain benefits from the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) program.
The AEWV is a transitional work visa category introduced by the New Zealand government to cover the post-Covid labour shortage. It is currently under review.
A Chartered Immigration Counsellor (LIA) arrests the first user following investigations into the exploitation of more than 140 Indian and Bangladeshi migrant workers.
The LIA, whose call has been temporarily deleted, remains in custody until his next court appearance on Jan. 17.
The counselor’s business and home were raided by police and the INZ after investigations revealed that he was involved in a scam that promoted fake job offers to immigrants to fraudulently download paint visas under the AEWV scheme.
Immigrants were paid between $20,000 and $40,000 for a task and a visa, but upon arrival they discovered that the tasks did not exist and were then housed in overcrowded properties.
Immigration Advisor and former Minister of Immigration Tuariki Delamere. Photo/Jason Oxenham
Greathead said the scam exploited the vulnerability of those seeking to make a living and that of their families by bringing their skills and fun to New Zealand.
“Photographs of migrants housed in appalling situations in Auckland have shocked New Zealand and undermined confidence in our immigration system,” he said.
The councilman faces two counts of false information, which carry a seven-year prison sentence.
Investigations into other people connected to the case are continuing.
Migrant workers from more than a dozen countries have become victims of the AEWV scam.
In May, the Herald reported that many Nepalis had paid up to $30,000 for non-existent assignments or for tasks described as “slave-like conditions” through Nepal’s honorary consul in New Zealand, Dinesh Khadka.
(From left to right) Bipul Pokhrel, Ghanshyam Gurung and Sujit Gaha, from Nepal and exploited through their employer. Photo/Dean Purcell
Hundreds of people from South American and Latin American countries are believed to have fallen victim to this scam.
In one case, a 24-year-old Peruvian woman had to move from a hotel to sexual checks to pay off loans she had obtained from gang-linked loan sharks to pay for her visa and fake job offer.
Hundreds of Chinese employees who had paid tens of thousands of dollars to get jobs under the scheme were laid off within days or weeks of arriving in New Zealand.