As of 29 September, INZ said there were 573 offshore AEWV holders who had border alerts placed on them. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
More than 500 offshore migrants with work visas tied to employers under investigation are being prevented from coming to New Zealand.
Immigration New Zealand's (INZ) investigation into Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) linked scams continues.
It has been a month and a half since more than 140 Indian and Bangladeshi workers on AEWVs were found living in cramped and unsanitary conditions across six houses in Auckland, left without income for months.
As of 29 September, INZ said there were 573 offshore AEWV holders who had border alerts placed on them - meaning they cannot enter New Zealand for jobs they have possibly already paid for. Of those visa holders, 380 were Chinese nationals.
The 573 AEWV holders also include the nearly 200 workers who were told in August not to come. Their visas are linked to employers being investigated over the exploitation of more than 140 South Asian migrants.
The men had no jobs and were living in squalid conditions, with up to 30 in a single house.
As of late September, 224 accredited employers are under investigation.
To date, 61 employers have had their accreditation revoked and 22 have had their accreditation suspended. Another 57 employers are under assessment to have their accreditation revoked or suspended.
A review by the Public Service Commission is under way to check whether processes around the checks and balances of the AEWV scheme have been followed.
The review is expected to be complete by mid-December.
Advocates and immigration advisors have in the past criticised the loosening of requirements for employers to get accreditation under the scheme, which some say has intensified immigration fraud and migrant exploitation.
