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Migrant living in garage, working illegally after paying thousands for work visa

Published

3 years ago

June 20, 2023

A Chinese man has been living in an Auckland garage for three months and working illegally after paying more than $17,000 for an accredited employer work visa.

The construction company who was supposed to give him work said it did not realise he was in the country even though the visa was approved in January.

He was among dozens of workers who had been left jobless and destitute after paying thousands of dollars for the visas, which tie them to employers and make it illegal for them to find new jobs.

The man, who RNZ is not naming, said he had been paying $120 a week to live in the garage of a West Auckland house.

There was just room for four beds, which were separated by curtains, and RNZ did not see any sign of heating when we visited.

The man said he was barely getting by after paying more than $17,000 for his visa to a China-based labour export company.

He said the day after he arrived here in March the agent he had been dealing with – Johnson Yang (also known as Yang Dong Qiang) – told him the employer no longer wanted him.

RNZ had previously spoken to two other workers who had also come through Yang, and were left unemployed – one had paid directly to Yang, and another had paid to another company Yang was working with in China.

The worker said he believed he had been scammed by both his agent and his employer.

“I come here and never get to meet my employer, this is suspicious. If they genuinely want to employ me, they wouldn’t just fire me before even meeting me,” he said.

Welldone Construction manager Jerry Zhang said the man did have a contract with the company and it knew his visa had been approved in January.

He said the agent Johnson Yang only told the firm this month that the worker had arrived and had been doing other jobs.

The company decided to cancel the man’s visa.

It also denied taking a cut from the agent fee the worker had paid.

Yang had hung up on RNZ when asked about what had happened, but just days after RNZ made contact, the worker was reimbursed half the money he had paid.

The worker claimed Yang had been arranging other jobs for him, which was illegal, and he wanted Immigration to give him an open work visa.

“I want the immigration department to give me a legal work visa, so I don’t need to be scared when working, because I came here through normal and legal processes, I don’t want to work illegally,” he said.

He said employers take advantage of him knowing that he was working illegally, and the lowest he had been paid was $18 per hour.

The Migrant Workers’ Association’s president Anu Kaloti said it had dealt with about 30 cases of workers in similar situations over the past three months.

She said the majority were on accredited work visas and in every case there were offshore agents involved but also complicit employers.

“The employer together with the agents cooked this scheme up [bringing over workers], so they fully know what’s going on. And I’ve also come across the odd licensed immigration advisor unfortunately, who’s also in this nexus,” she said.

Kaloti said the exploitation was happening in many sectors, including construction, hospitality and aged care and involved workers from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and South America.

She was calling for Immigration New Zealand to give open work visas to affected workers, or to extend the migrant exploitation protection visa from 6 months to a year.

But ultimately, Kaloti said she wanted to see the accredited employer work visa scrapped so that migrants would not be tied to a single employer.

Another advocate, May Moncur, was also representing more than a dozen workers who had paid between $10,000 to $20,000 for visas then lost their jobs.

Moncur said it was very hard for workers to seek redress when they could barely afford to continue living here.

“It’s time consuming and a very stressful process, I have two clients, they have already left New Zealand because they could not survive here, and they received some assistance from charity, however they could not make a living here,” she said.

Immigration said it was investigating about 36 employers involving migrants on accredited work visas or cyclone recovery visas.

SOURCE RNZ

Latest News

Police say person who fired gun at officers still at large

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2026

News Staff

Police say a person who fired a gun at officers in Napier is still at large.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Joel Lamb said Police tried to stop a vehicle in the Pirimai Area at about 10pm on Tuesday.

He said someone in the back seat pointed what was presumed to be a firearm at officers pursuing the vehicle.

“Staff have then heard two distinct gunshots as the firearm was discharged.

“Fortunately, neither of our officers were injured, and the patrol vehicle did not sustain any damage.”

He said hours later, the vehicle was seen travelling north on the Waikato Expressway towards Auckland.

Police seized the vehicle at an address in Manurewa, but they had not found the alleged offender.

Lamb said people who lived at the Manurewa address were engaging with Police.

He said Eastern District and Counties Manukau Police were making enquiries.

“Presenting a firearm at a Police officer is a serious escalation that puts our staff and the wider community at risk. This behaviour is entirely unacceptable.

“We are taking this incident extremely seriously and will be pursuing all lines of enquiry to locate the offender and hold them accountable.”

Police asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Police on 105 or online using the reference number 261111/3764.

Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

rnz

Latest News

New Zealand sides named for RLWC finals

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

News Staff

The players tasked with ending Australia’s Rugby League World Cup dominance have been named.

The Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns have announced their squads for this Sunday’s World Cup finals in Brisbane.

Both sides are chasing their first titles since 2008, and both are looking to end their opponents run of three crowns in a row.

“Our Kiwi Ferns have been so dominant in years gone by, and we want to bring dominance back to this jersey, so I think it will be a case of who wants it more,” said co-captain Georgia Hale of the impending clash.

The Kiwis get a major boost for the final as they welcome back Ronaldo Mulitalo after he served a one-match ban for a high tackle against Fiji Bati.

Mulitalo replaces Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who moves to the six-man bench, which again includes utility Te Maire Martin, middle forwards Naufahu Whyte, Erin Clark and Xavier Willison plus fullback Keano Kini.

Loose forward Joseph Tapine will make his 30th Test appearance in a familiar pack again, including second-rowers Isaiah Papali’i and Briton Nikora, and props James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.

Winger Jamayne Isaako is on the cusp of claiming the New Zealand record for most Test points.

His five goals against Tonga lifted his career points tally to 225 – level with Shaun Johnson – while centre Casey McLean goes into the final with 16 tries in just eight Tests.

Fisher-Harris will again captain the team.

Fullback Ponga said the goal of the group was clear.

“We have high expectations around what we want to achieve, and obviously winning a world Cup is one of them.”

Meanwhile, Ricky Henry has selected a settled side to take on the Jillaroos, led by their lethal centre combination of Stacey Waaka and Mele Hufanga.

Veteran Apii Nicholls takes the number one jersey, Leianne Tufuga and Mackenzie Wiki on the wings.

Henry has stuck with his halves pairing of Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Raecene McGregor with Alexis Tauaneai, Georgia Hale and Otesa Pule up front.

Rounding out the starting pack is Shaniece Monschau, Kaiyah Atai, and Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa.

“We have been building well throughout the tournament; we understand the Jillaroos side, and will give it our all to make New Zealand proud this weekend,” said Henry.

RLWC Finals:

Kiwi Ferns vs Jillaroos- 6.10pm

Kiwis vs Kangaroos – 9.35pm

Sunday November 15

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Live blog updates on RNZ

Kiwi Ferns:

1. Apii Nicholls 2. Leianne Tufuga 3. Mele Hufanga 4. Stacey Waaka 5. Mackenzie Wiki 6. Chantay Kiria-Ratu 7. Raecene McGregor 8. Alexis Tauaneai 9. Georgia Hale 10. Otesa Pule 11. Shaniece Monschau 12. Kaiyah Atai 13. Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa.

Interchange: 14. Ashleigh Quinlan 15. Annessa Biddle 16. Shannon Mato 17. Ivana Lauitiiti.

Reserves: 18. Brooke Anderson 19. Zahara Temara 20. Brianna Clark 21. Abigail Roache 22. Tenika Willison.

Kiwis:

1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Casey McLean, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. James Fisher-Harris (c), 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Moses Leota, 11. Isaiah Papali’i, 12. Briton Nikora, 13. Joseph Tapine (v/c).

Interchange: 14. Te Maire Martin, 15. Naufahu Whyte, 16. Erin Clark, 17. Xavier Willison.

Reserves: 18. Keano Kini, 19. Phoenix Crossland, 20. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 21. Scott Sorensen, 22. Leo Thompson.

rnz

Latest News

Parliamentary Service working on extra chairs and offices for increased number of MPs

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

News Staff

The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.

On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.

Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.

In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.

“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.

“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”

Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Service Rafael Gonzalez-Montero appears before select committee. — Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero.

VNP / Phil Smith

Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.

That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.

“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.

Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.

Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.

The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.

Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.

Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.

“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”

Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.

rnz