An Auckland woman has been fined $7000 after the Immigration Advisors Authority (IAA) found she provided unlicensed immigration advice to the Chinese community through a radio show. The woman, of Sea Consultants and Investments Limited, was convicted for providing immigration advice when she was neither licensed, nor exempt from the requirement to hold a licence. A second charge related to holding herself out as an immigration adviser, knowing she was not licensed or exempt. She was first convicted in 2014 on the charges before appealing, which resulted in the matter going back to the Auckland District Court. Following being sentenced for a second time, she appealed to the High Court for permanent name suppression and a discharge without conviction. That appeal was declined on Wednesday. She then applied for interim name suppression. IAA registrar Catherine Albiston said the woman had unlawfully broadcast her radio show to the local Chinese community, "many of whom could have been vulnerable to poor immigration advice". "This conviction should send a clear message that the IAA takes non-compliance with the New Zealand immigration adviser licensing requirements very seriously," she said.
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October 2024
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