Filipino agency's promises of NZ visas for students 'sickening', says migrant spokesman

Thursday, 10 May 2018

Philippines ambassador to New Zealand Jesus Domingo says Education New Zealand helps Filipino agencies promote studying and living in New Zealand to students.

A Filipino immigration agency allegedly promoting 'education trafficking' to New Zealand has one of the lowest international student visa success rates.

Statistics sourced to Immigration New Zealand, and supplied to Stuff, revealed that 40 per cent of Filipinos who paid Pinoy Care Visa Center to help with their international student visa application were granted one last year.

Its success rate was the lowest of 22 offshore agencies which were known to to charge Filipino students to apply for visas to New Zealand.

International students can apply for an international student visa directly with Immigration at no extra cost.

Pinoy Care Visa Center granted 40 per cent of the students that paid it visas to study here, Immigration New Zealand 2017 statistics show.

* Hundreds of Filipinos could be forced home after working with faked documents**

Pinoy Care funded a Filipino news report featuring New Zealand private training establishment (PTE) Cornell Institute of Business and Technology.

The PTV news report, published on Facebook by Pinoy Care last month, said: 'Although education overseas is expensive, the system in New Zealand is different, because when you graduate in said country, a job is not all that is waiting for you, you may also bring your family over for a good life.'

Cornell general manager Jun Kim said he did not know about the news report or the agency, Pinoy Care.

'We have got a lot of Filipino agents working for us … to recruit students.

'We monitor them [agencies] if they provide any incorrect information. We give a warning to those agencies.'

Cornell Philippines marketing manager Bien Tabo said on social media that Pinoy Care had funded a PTV journalist to visit New Zealand and Cornell.

Bien diverted all questions about Cornell's arrangement with Pinoy Care to Kim. Kim did not respond.

Filipino migrant support group Migrante spokesman Mikee Santos said the PTV news report on Pinoy Care and Cornell was 'sickening'.

It was one of many Filipino agencies' attempts to sell a 'scam' that migrants could gain residency in New Zealand after studying, he said.

Filipino students paid more than $2000 to agencies to secure a visa and a place at an education institute here, in the hope of gaining residency for them and their family members, he said.

'It's a paid hack. It makes me sick. It's education trafficking.'

Cornell offered courses in hospitality, cooking, business and health.

Former teacher at a PTE Murray Heasley said PTEs like Cornell had commission-based financial arrangements with offshore agencies.

Agencies bargained with New Zealand PTEs for the highest rate, often taking up to 20 per cent of a students' fees, he said.

Pinoy Care was contacted for comment but did not respond. It had offices in the Philippines, Canada and Singapore but not in New Zealand.

PTEs must be registered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

Heasley said NZQA's oversight of PTEs and their financial relationship with offshore immigration agencies was 'appalling'.

NZQA quality assurance deputy chief executive Grant Klinkum said governing members of PTEs had to declare they were a fit and proper person without conflict of interest.

If a tertiary education organisation (TEO) breached the Guidelines for the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016, NZQA would take firm action, he said.

NZQA monitored TEOs consistently, and carried out short notice checks and unannounced visits to them, he said.

'We will continue to assess our ongoing quality assurance role within the sector … [and] will continue our ongoing joint work on areas like the use of education agents.'

Philippines ambassador to New Zealand Jesus Domingo said he received death threats after speaking out against FIlipino agencies, some of which worked with the New Zealand Embassy in Manila. Government agency Education New Zealand helped FIlipino agencies promote the 'study, work, live' message there, he said.

'These agencies and Education NZ are trying to go after all possible markets. A lot of promotion goes on in provincial areas.'

Education NZ spokesman John Goulter said it did not promote education as a backdoor pathway to residency.

'We encourage education providers and students to use reputable agents who are focused on high quality education.'

Education agencies played an important role in providing accurate information about New Zealand to international students, he said.

Some international students had 'unrealistic expectations of securing employment' when they finished studying here, he said.

Immigration was contacted for comment.