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Newsletter #7

8 July 2008

Licensing helps immigration industry credibility

Licensing immigration advisers is a three-way winning situation for the individual advisers, their industry and New Zealand, says the Registrar of Immigration Advisers.

The Registrar, Barry Smedts, made the comment while presenting New Zealand’s first Immigration Advisers licence to Auckland Immigration Adviser, Tony Tse.

Tony Tse, New Zealand’s first Licensed Immigration Adviser, with Immigration Advisers Authority Registrar Barry Smedts.
Tony Tse, New Zealand’s first Licensed Immigration Adviser, with Immigration
Advisers Authority Registrar Barry Smedts.

Licensing of immigration advisers comes under a new law which requires anyone giving immigration advice to be licensed by 4 May 2009.

Mr Smedts said licensing of immigration advisers was at the heart of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 which sought to bring regulation to the industry and to protect the consumer rights of migrants.

“While this is an important occasion for Tony, personally, it is also important for the professionalism and credibility of the immigration advice industry and for New Zealand’s international standing as a migrant destination,” said Mr Smedts.

He said New Zealand had previously an unregulated environment where anyone could call themselves an immigration adviser and offer advice, whether or not they knew anything about immigration requirements.

“Now, with the Immigration Advisers Authority in place and managing the licensing process, we have a system in place which not only sets new standards of professionalism for advisers and protects vulnerable migrants, but also enhances the reputation of the industry.”

Mr Smedts said Mr Tse was an “excellent example” of someone who was prepared to work hard to meet the requirements for licensing.

Mr Tse said the licensing of immigration advisers was a positive move that would scare-off unprofessional and unethical advisers to protect migrants from receiving bad advice.

“The process was time-consuming, but straight-forward and well worth the effort and I strongly encourage my fellow immigration advisers to become licensed,” he said.

“I found the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) testing process a good motivation to upskill my written and verbal English. This is important in a profession where we need to communicate complex issues.

“In addition to the obvious benefit to the individual immigration adviser from a business sense, licensing will be good for the credibility of the industry,” he said.

Mr Smedts said Mr Tse had demonstrated a strong commitment to licensing process.

“Tony was a member of our original working group that trialled the competency standards and processes for licensing and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the licensing system,” he said.

The Immigration Advisers Authority administers the Act which requires anyone giving immigration advice to be licensed (unless exempt) by 4 May 2009. People giving advice offshore will need to be licensed by 4 May 2010.

Mr Smedts says the Authority ensures applicants meet competency standards before granting a licence and licensed advisers must abide by the Authority’s Code of Conduct.

The Authority has a register of licensed immigration advisers on its website. It will also receive complaints about licensed immigration advisers and, if justified, the complaint will be forwarded to an independent Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal.

Penalties for breaching the Code include up to seven years imprisonment and/or fines up to $100,000 for non-licensed offenders, as well as the possibility of court-ordered reparation payments. For licensed advisers, there are penalties of up to two years imprisonment and/or fines of up to $10,000 for breaches of the Act.

Contact us

As always, please feel free to contact us on info@iaa.govt.nz, freephone 0508 IAA IAA (0508 422 422 — New Zealand only) or write to us at PO Box 6222, Auckland 1141, New Zealand. Or you can visit us at: www.iaa.govt.nz

Barry Smedts
Registrar of Immigration Advisers

Licensed professionals = Protected migrants