Ban possible over ‘fake’ jobs

A Wellington immigration agent faces a lengthy ban from the profession and possible criminal charges after charging Indian migrants for ‘‘fake’’ jobs at a nonexistent IT company to secure New Zealand residency.

A Stuff investigation, The Big Scam, last year exposed how Peter Graeme Ryan, managing director of Capital Immigration Services, ran the fake job scheme with Whanga¯ rei restaurateur Gurpreet Singh.

Stuff revealed how 17 predominantly Indian nationals secured residency visas through Ryan’s fake IT consultancy, Bite Consulting NZ/BC International, and how Ryan also handled immigration paperwork for other migrants who said they had been exploited by Singh.

In one case, migrant Karamjeet Singh (unrelated) was told he’d get a $42,000-a-year IT job in Wellington if he paid $35,000 to Ryan – but the job never existed.

Instead, he had to work a cash job in an Auckland factory, while returning his Bite wages – plus extra, to cover tax. He later withdrew his residency application.

The stories prompted an investigation by the Immigration Advisors Authority, who laid charges before the Immigration Advisors Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal. Karamjeet also laid a complaint.

The tribunal found Ryan guilty of breaching the Immigration Advisors Code and the 2009 Immigration Act.

Ryan denied the charges, but voluntarily surrendered his immigration adviser’s licence.

The registrar of the Immigration Advisors Authority, Andrew Galloway, condemned Ryan’s actions as ‘‘some of the most serious offending we’ve seen’’. Asked if it was an unreasonable supposition that Ryan would be out of the profession for life, Galloway said: ‘‘Definitely not, not while I am registrar.’’

Ryan and Galloway both have to make submissions to the tribunal on potential penalties by December 2, then can respond to each other’s submissions until December 16.

Sanctions available to the tribunal include a penalty of up to $10,000, forcing Ryan to refund fees and pay compensation, and banning him for re-applying for his licence for up to two years.