A woman who charged visa applicants hundreds of dollars to lodge applications on their behalf has been sentenced to supervision, community work and ordered to pay her victims.
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Sesilia Sua was convicted in the Auckland District Court on charges under the Immigration Advisers Act of providing advice without a licence and using forged documents.
She has been sentenced to 12 months' supervision and 200 hours' community work
She has also been ordered to pay her victims $8000 dollars by Monday.
Sua had been warned in 2017 by the Immigration Advisers Authority, but disregarded this and continued providing immigration advice.
The registrar of immigration advisers, Duncan Connor, said the people affected had mostly met Sua through church events, where her husband is a pastor, or had been referred to her by friends or family.
In one example, a person who had connected with Sua through the church network had sought her advice since 2015. Several visa applications lodged by Sua on their behalf were rejected over the years which saw the person end up residing in New Zealand unlawfully.
Sua, who is from Samoa and holds a New Zealand Permanent Resident Visa, had at times identified herself as a family member in the visa applications she lodged on behalf of her victims and at times, forged documents to support the visa applications.
"Providing immigration advice is a licensed and recognised profession in New Zealand. If people need help with immigration matters, they should only use a licensed adviser or a person exempt from holding a licence," Connor said.
"It is concerning that this person used her standing in the community to dishonestly provide advice and support that caused significant harm to migrants that saw them out of pocket, without a visa and unable to move to New Zealand."
The Immigration Advisers Authority's online register of licensed advisers is available to the public if they want to search for a licensed immigration adviser.