Charges have been laid by Thai law enforcement against eight visa agents in Thailand after Immigration New Zealand (INZ) identified they were attempting to facilitate Visitor visa applications using various fake documents, for persons in rural Thailand intending to work in New Zealand. The same people are additionally alleged to have been scamming victims by selling them forged New Zealand Residence Class visas in Thailand. Vehicles, gold, bank records and forged documents were seized following simultaneous searches conducted by Thai law enforcement at five locations.

The fraud was originally discovered by an INZ staff member working from our Thailand office.

"This once more sends out a message to any other visa agents who believe they can get away with not following the rules and operating with impunity and anonymity," says Geoff Scott, National Manager Risk and Verification.

“We can find out who they are and will work with local law enforcement partners to ensure justice is served.

“Certain visa agents believe the rules don’t apply to them and that they can behave however they like to make money. But no one is above the law, and these arrests show that neither New Zealand nor Thailand will stand idly by when people are victimised like this, and there will be real-world consequences for such behavior,” Mr Scott says.

In addition to the fraud encountered by INZ staff in Bangkok from these visa agents in more than 70 visa applications, numerous complaints have also been received from individuals who had been sold false documents purporting to be New Zealand Residence e-visas.

Information all linked back to the same agency network. INZ worked with Thai Cybercrime Division, Thai Central Investigation Bureau and Thai Department of Employment on the fraud scheme, which was perpetrated by a network using a front company to deceive individuals attracted to ostensibly high paying jobs in New Zealand. Money received from victims was laundered through multiple accounts and properties to obfuscate the trail. During the course of this investigation, evidence of a parallel fraud scheme targeting South Korea was also detected, involving over 450 Thai victims and resulting in the arrest of one South Korean fugitive in Thailand.

“This is another great example of international cooperation in the fight against people smuggling, scams and visa fraud,” Mr Scott says.

“Groups engaged in this kind of organised criminal activity rely on governments not talking to each other in order to get away with it. That didn’t work for them here.”

Ways to protect yourself

Scammers sometimes provide fake visas. If an agent or adviser has told you have been given a New Zealand visa, you can check if it is real by using our Visa Verification service.

Visa Verification Service

Report scams to the local authorities in your country such as the Police. If you are in New Zealand you can report online scams on the Own your online website.

Report an online issue or security incident — Own your online

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