The Immigration New Zealand has started crack down on violators of short visa rules. The move has been intensified after investigation into a China based company which has a contract with KiwiRail. The agency told the Chinese firm that any future requests will be met with a very high scrutiny and relief will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

Immigration New Zealand started a crack down on KiwiRail's Chinese locomotive provider, warning it will not be so free in granting visa extensions. In April, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment concluded an investigation into the workers employed by CNR, who had been contracted to remove asbestos from KiwiRail trains in Lower Hutt.

During the probe, both the workers and CNR refused to give the investigators their wage records. MBIE then said it would not proceed with the probe as workers are not subject to New Zealand law. Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse told Parliament on April 29 that he was happy that the situation is not that serious as the workers were only here for a short time.

Visa Violations

Though Woodhouse took relief in the fact that the Chinese workers are on short term visas, not more than three months per year, Immigration New Zealand confirmed that most of the workers are on 90-day specific purpose visas and they had been granted 90 day extensions. It means the Chinese workers will be in New Zealand for six months.

Of the 45 persons, who applied for extensions, all of them were granted a rollover, an Immigration New Zealand spokeswoman confirmed. Although Immigration New Zealand has denied that its officials have erred in granting the visa extensions, it has signalled that in future applications will not get such a benign treatment.

Immigration New Zealand area manager Michael Carley said in a statement that "Immigration New Zealand has advised KiwiRail that any future requests must meet a very high threshold and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances."

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson commented that it is a complete and utter disgrace that our Minister of Workplace Relations is "comfortable to have a question hanging as to whether New Zealand law will apply to a person working in New Zealand."

Seasonal Worker Scheme

Meanwhile, Woodhouse ruled out extending New Zealand's seasonal worker scheme to bring in more foreign workers from places like pacific island Vanuatu. Each year, thousands of workers from across the Pacific come to New Zealand to work in the horticultural sector under the Recognised Seasonal Employer or RSE scheme. In 2014, the Government increased the cap on the RSE scheme from 8000 to 9000 workers each year. Woodhouse said the new cap seemed to be working well and he would not increase it as a response to the cyclone.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)

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