File photo. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
One company has had its accredited employer status revoked, and another has had its accreditation suspended as the result of an Immigration New Zealand investigation.
It comes after at least a hundred migrant workers were dismissed by their employers after having paid thousands of dollars to offshore agents for their accredited employer work visas.
Migrant advocate Anu Kaloti earlier told RNZ exploitation had been happening in many sectors, including construction, hospitality and aged care and involved workers from countries including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and South America.
RNZ's investigations showed that many workers in the Chinese community had also been impacted.
"We really feel for the migrants in this situation, they're the ones being exploited" - Immigration New Zealand general manager Richard Owen
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) general manager Richard Owen said the situation was concerning and they were aware of migrants being charged between $14,000 to over $30,000 by agents, and some being dismissed before even starting work.
"I think it's really important to say here, first of all, we really feel for the migrants in this situation, they're the ones being exploited and that's really key and we take that really seriously," he said.
"They arrive in New Zealand, they're collected from the airport, they're provided accommodation which ultimately they pay for, and then they may not even get to the workplace or when they do get to the workplace they're dismissed in a relatively short space of time."
Owen told Checkpoint 53 companies were being investigated and 16 more companies were at risk of having their accreditation suspended or revoked.
He said INZ aimed to audit 15 percent of all accredited employers, with over 430 completed and 1500 checks underway - although in an emailed statement from INZ he said there were 1300 post-accreditation checks underway. There were 23,744 accredited employers in New Zealand.
It was too early to say whether accredited employers had been taking cuts from illegal premiums paid by migrant workers offshore, Owen said, but added it was one of the areas they would be investigating.
"We've got to go through the burden of proof about whether employers have been complicit in these situations, and that's part of what our investigation will be looking at as well."
The investigation was at its early stages and INZ would be looking into whether employers were complicit, as well as more serious allegations such as people trafficking, Owen said.