Visa changes target ‘poor quality’ training providers

The Government’s first immigration policy proposal hopes to kill the business of private education firms recruiting international students who want New Zealand residency.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said his decision to change work rights for graduated international students was ‘‘absolutely’’ driven by the unethical behaviour of ‘‘poor quality’’ education providers and offshore student recruitment agencies.

Some private training establishments and agencies were ‘‘in the business of providing people with a pathway to residency, rather than providing a high quality education’’, he said.

A number of Filipino students recruited to New Zealand by such agencies told Stuff they became depressed and contemplated suicide after they studied lowlevel courses and failed to find decent jobs and live here.

Former student Rex Velasco said Filipino agencies that were paid by New Zealand education firms to recruit students told Filipinos they would be granted residency in New Zealand after studying here. ‘‘It’s all lies.’’

He paid an Auckland private education firm $17,000 to study a non-degree hospitality course after a staff member told him he would be granted a one-year poststudy work visa after graduation.

However, his course did not meet the post-study work visa eligibility criteria so he could not work in New Zealand like he was allegedly told he could.

Lees-Galloway said many lowlevel courses and the poor quality firms offering them had been shut down, which was ‘‘good’’.

He signalled more heads would roll in the industry.

Migrante Aotearoa chairman Mikee Santos said last month the ‘‘scam’’ Filipino agencies sold to students there was ‘‘sickening’’.

Filipino students paid more than $2000 to agencies to secure a visa and a place at an education institute here, in the hope of gaining residency for them and their family members, he said.

‘‘It’s a paid hack. It makes me sick. It’s education trafficking.’’

He welcomed the Government’s proposed changes to international graduates’ work rights announced on Saturday.

The changes included requiring students to study a nondegree – that’s below level seven – course for at least two years before becoming eligible for a one-year post-study work visa.

It proposed they be automatically granted that visa after graduating, and a three-year poststudy work visa granted to those who graduated with a degree.

The proposal included removing the ‘‘employer assisted’’ requirement for post-study visas so a graduate’s working rights were not tied to a single company.

Public submissions on the proposed changes will be accepted until June 29.