“$20k for a visa: the Chinese migrants paying big to come to NZ”

A migrant paid 10 times the going rate for a visa, but the agent involved says her fees to bring Chinese workers into NZ are completely fair. Steve Kilgallon investigates.

Jun* puts his head in his hands. He hasn’t yet told his family in China that the 85,000 RMB ($NZ20,000) they borrowed from friends to get him to New Zealand has gone, with little hope of repaying it…

Jun paid the money to a New Zealand licensed immigration advisor for a work visa - and other licensed advisors says he paid 10 times the going rate…

The agent, Jane Tzu-Tong Ma, found Jun a job with her husband’s construction company, without disclosing their relationship…

… Jun was encouraged to sign an employment contract and a service contract with Ma completely written in English…

Ma, who now faces an Immigration Advisors Authority investigation, tearfully says she has done nothing wrong…

Jun’s employment contract was with ZR Home and one of his interviewers was Hao Zhang…

His advocate … filed a Personal Grievance with his employer for disadvantage, lost wages, hurt and humiliation and arguing that the 85,000 RMB was an illegal premium. She said on Friday she had yet to receive a response …