International education institutes with links to visa fraud should be named and shamed, the Labour Party said after new data showed "endemic'' levels of fraudulent activity. Immigration New Zealand began taking a tougher line on student visa applications in May out of concern about fraudulent activity. International students have to prove they can financially support themselves in New Zealand, and some Indian-based agents had been using fraudulent bank statements in visa applications, assisted by corrupt bank managers. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) documents released to Labour showed the number of fraud cases had risen from 75 in April to 640 cases in August. Agents who were found to have submitted fraudulent applications often re-emerged under a new name, which INZ called "phoenixing''.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 21, 2016 20:03 UTC