Hundreds of international nurses attracted here by overseas recruiters are tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket, and without work.
This comes as Health New Zealand admits it already has more nurses than it has the budget for.
Yet the Nurses Organisation maintains its members are constantly working with unsafe staffing levels and it believes a hiring freeze is in place, despite denials from Health NZ.
India and the Philippines have officially cautioned nurses against coming to New Zealand without a guaranteed job.
Kathryn speaks with Nurses Organisation board member Saju Cherian, and Monina Hernande, president of the Filipino Nurses Association of New Zealand.