Australian Government - Migration Fraud Summary

14 August 2012

Figures released by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) show that large numbers of young travellers are using fraudulent methods to extend their stay in the country after their working holiday visas have expired. Australian farmers are helping them by selling them false documentation in support of their applications.

Working holiday visas are issued by Australian immigration authorities to young people between the ages of 18 and 30 who come from countries with which Australia has reciprocal working holiday visa programmes. Young people from Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom can apply.

The visas last for twelve months. However, if the holder of a working holiday visa has carried out three months' work in a specified occupation, such as farming, in regional Australia, they will be entitled to a second working holiday visa. This arrangement is in place because Australian farming relies on visitors for much of its manpower.
However, Australian immigration authorities began to suspect that the system was being abused in 2009 when adverts offering to supply bogus evidence in support of second working holiday visa claims appeared online. Anecdotal evidence suggests that travellers can purchase false evidence from a farmer for a fee of AUS$400-500. The practice of making such fraudulent visa applications is known as 'rorting'.

Since 2009, DIAC has cancelled 1,059 working holiday visas at the rate of about one a day. In the last year, six Australians have been prosecuted and five convicted on charges of supplying false information to obtain a visa extension.

Of the 1,059 applicants whose visa extensions were cancelled by the Australian immigration authorities after investigation, 38 per cent were from South Korea, 22 per cent came from Ireland and 20 per cent came from the United Kingdom. A spokesman for the Department of Immigration said that the incidence of such fraud was falling as a result of the crackdown.

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by Mark Benson on August 12, 2012 in Australia Immigration

The Australian authorities have today confirmed the discovery of a massive immigration fraud which involved hundreds of Indian students who had been looking to settle in Australia. There is speculation that the scheme has been ongoing for up to 5 years and netted the kingpins anywhere up to AU$2 million. There is now widespread confusion and concern about the legality of an array of immigration documents which have previously been passed by the authorities.

What was the scam?
This particular scam is said to have involved hundreds of Indian students who were looking to effectively “buy the right” to live in Australia. In order to increase their points tally with regards to their immigration application they required evidence of up to 900 hours of unpaid work experience. It is believed that the criminal gang involved in this particular scam has been charging up to AU$3500 for a variety of fake documents which gave the impression that the work in question had been completed. Indeed there were even pictures of various immigration applicants “working” in a traditional environment.
The employment activities in question include cooking, baking, mechanics and hairdressing and the scheme has been traced back to Carmine Amarante who worked at the Della International training college in Melbourne. He has been jailed for three years for his part in the scam and the authorities continue to dig deeper in relation to alleged irregularities in hundreds of immigration applications.

The financials
Aside from the fact that the criminal gang charged up to AU$3500 for a variety of fake documents the authorities are now investigating various business owners who were allegedly paid anywhere between AU$300 and AU$500 for each relevant signature on the documentation. It is almost impossible for the authorities to review every individual application over the last five years and what we may see is the authorities drawing a line under the situation and keeping a very close eye on future applications.

While the authorities estimate the total income from this scheme to be around AU$2 million the reality is that nobody really knows. In times gone by the authorities had taken these documents as proof of work experience which now makes up about 50% of the points required for a successful immigration application. We will likely see a review of this system in the short term which is not exactly what the authorities had hoped for as immigration becomes a major policy issue moving towards the next general election.

Is there wholesale fraud in the immigration system?
Over the years the Australian government has uncovered a number of dubious activities with regards to immigration. We have seen various immigration officers accused of taking backhanders, we have seen fraudulent asylum seeking applications and now we see a number of businesses have been involved in a well-planned meticulous fraud. When you take into account the fact that the Australian government has spent hundreds of millions of Australian dollars on the immigration system this is a bitter blow.

You would be forgiven for assuming that because the authorities requested evidence of work experience from those looking to live full time in the country that this was a likely foolproof way of catching fraudsters. However, a number of specific businesses have been targeted by the authorities who have evidence of wrongdoing and fraudulent documentation. The spotlight of suspicion will now fall on each and every individual company offering bona fide work experience documentation which will not do the relationship between the government and various immigrant communities any good.

Education in Australia
Further education in Australia is a vital element of the economy and Australian society going forward and has indeed attracted thousands of overseas students. It is hoped that the illegal activities of a minority of overseas students will not have an impact upon the overall system which has fared admirably to date. The Australian government has invested a significant amount of money into the education system and indeed a number of overseas ventures have been created over the last couple of years. There is also, and always has been, a relatively strong relationship with the Indian authorities although no doubt the Australian government will be asking questions with regards to this recent scam discovery.

While the experience of Australian students has been widened and expanded over the last few years, with various joint ventures overseas, the integration of overseas students into Australia has played a vital role in supporting the economy. It will be interesting to see whether the authorities discover any more similar scams with regards to immigration and indeed what they can do in the short to medium term to protect Australian society.

Social friction
One concern amongst politicians is whether the discovery of this particular scam, which is said to have involved hundreds of Indian students, will create yet more friction between various immigrant communities and the wider Australian population. There has been some friction in months gone by but the authorities have acted quickly to try and keep a lid on this particular issue showing all immigration communities and the domestic Australian workforce that these schemes will not be tolerated and the full force of Australian law will be used.

Rather bizarrely those Indian students who have become involved in this particular scam may well inadvertently create something of a shortage of skilled workers in the Indian community with regards to cooking, baking, mechanics and hairdressing. Would you really want to chance your arm in Australia with these particular employment opportunities knowing that the authorities are likely to be even stricter than they have been in the past?

Conclusion
Despite the fact that this particular scam has allegedly been ongoing for five years the Australian government has acted as quickly as possible with regards to criminal charges. Indeed the alleged kingpin of the scam has been jailed for three years and this will send ripples across the criminal community. However, it does give the authorities yet another headache with regards to the Australian immigration system which has certainly been under the spotlight for a few years now.

How will the authorities attempt to tackle the issue of fake work experience documents in the future? Will they come down too hard and cause friction with the immigrant community? Will they be afraid to act swiftly because of potential racial questions? This is certainly something of a hornet’s nest for the Australian authorities!

i want to be in the happiest nation

Everyone does. Hehe.
Depends on one's interpretation of happiness, though. As a writer, a Cuban refugee, said, "I left Cuba for USA to escape Castro's revolution. Only to find war going on in school campuses. So, I left USA for Australia". Described living in Australia as a "fugue of tedium, of stultifying ennui". Hehe.
It's true. Life here is like that. Especially when living in the mines. Mine workers would say, "if I stay long here I'll go tropo". Tropo comes from the word tropical. Yes, it's a tropical disease called "sira-ulo" in Tagalog. Hehe.
In the mines, working at a certain height above sea level attracted a penalty rate over and above usual rate. If a worker wanted extra money for a holiday, he'd grab used computer papers from the office and go up during his time off and fly paper airplanes. Hehe
Some decided to call it quits and went to either Thailand or Philippines. In Philippines, went to Clark or Subic and married local "borikats" working in nightclubs and started own nightclub businesses. As said, depends on one's interpretation of happiness.
Come to think of it, maganda pag maranasan ang ganyang klaseng buhay. To know what it is to suffer which is as much a part of life as it is to breathe the free air. Working in the mine. Packed like sardines; living and sleeping inside the caravan. Hehe.
Yes, the government has marvellous plans to improve living conditions in mining towns. E.g., turn Karratha town into a world-class city. But that's not gonna happen overnight. Not to mention, yet to secure pr. Which will come first is anyone’s guess. 'til then, it's gonna be endurance testing.

Yeah, skipper, think it over very carefully. Ask yourself, are you willing to give up your world of glitz and glamour and go to a world obscure in your labour as you trudge along the rugged path towards prosperity and freedom? You could say, maximum 5 years. Said something similar when came to Australia. It's not yet 5 years. Only 30+ years. Haha.

In Manila, was sleeping in a small room with 7 others in an apartment in Barrio Pineda, Pasig across Rizal Provincial Hospital. Double-decked steel bed to each wall. Yes, packed like sardines experience. Hehe. 40-minute brisk walk to Meralco every morning. Shower in shower room provided for graveyard shift workers. Breakfast in heavily subsidized canteen.

Had relatives in Manila but didn't like living with them. Ayao ko magkaroon ng utang loob. Preferred to live on my own and do things my way.

As Frank Sinatra sang in"My Way",
"And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing,
To think I did all that,
And may I say, not in a shy way,
Oh no, oh no, not me,
I did it my way."

i want to be in the happiest nation

Seriously, don't think getting a mining job in Australia is  a big deal. So, let's set that aside and talk business - payback. You know what me want in return. Ayao ng mga losyang, ha? Hehe.

Peter Mickelburough From: Herald Sun August 27, 2012 12:00AM

SHAM weddings used to gain Australian citizenship are being exposed in record numbers.

More than 1300 overseas-born partners have been sent packing in the past four years after their relationships with Australian residents and citizens were exposed as lies - 406, or eight a week, in the past year alone.

More than 60,600 foreigners sought to join a husband, wife, de facto or same sex partner in Australia in 2011-12.

Almost one in nine claims were rejected, up from one in 13 just four years ago.

The growth in partner visa requests, particularly from foreigners already here to study, work or holiday, has sparked calls to make them harder to get to deter cheats and citizenship hunters.

"Given the increasing value of an Australian visa in a troubled world and the massive interest in coming to Australia it is high time that we raised the bar," Monash University immigration expert Bob Birrell said.

Laws giving any Australian resident 17 or older the right to bring a foreign partner here, with the only proviso being that their relationship was genuine, were "too easygoing".

Immigration officials granted 45,150 partner visas in the past year, almost 20,000 more than 15 years ago.

"When you compare those numbers with the total annual number of marriages in Australia, which is about 120,000, you get a sense of the enormous scale of what partner sponsorship is adding," Dr Birrell said.

European nations have moved to make partner-based citizenship claims harder.

Australia rejected 6104 applications outright in 2011-12, with 406 previously granted partner visas cancelled after holes emerged in couples' stories.

Four in 10 partner visa applications came from foreigners already here on student, work or holiday visas in the past year, and they were the most often rejected.

Refusals of these applications have leapt, from 1950 four years ago to more than 3000 in 2011-12.

China has overtaken the UK as the most common home of foreign brides and grooms, followed closely by India, the Philippines and Vietnam.

A special unit within the Immigration Department uses surprise home visits and intimacy test interviews of suspect couples, asking separately about their lives, to check "irregularities" and weed out the frauds.

Thursday, 07 June 2012 10:54

“Good night honey, see you next five years at the court”, Kevin Tran, a Vietnamese Australian, told his bride after walking out from their wedding party at a restaurant in Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia.

After giving each other a vapid smile, they went separately on their own way. The couple does not have a honey moon or any sweet kisses because they have just done an affair – sham marriage.

When Australian government has tightened immigration policies, some oversea students and foreigners are expecting sham marriage as an opportunity to settle in Australia. According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s report, there were approximately 42,000 foreigners granted partner visas in 2010-2011 alone, rising 55 percent in comparison with the 1997-1998 periods.

Dreams to be Australian citizens

Maxim restaurant, which is located in Bankstown, looked really busy on a Saturday night in May. On the up stair of the restaurant, bridegroom Kevin Tran (*) looked elegantly in suit, standing besides his bride, Vicky Nguyen (*), a Vietnamese student in Sydney.

Around the couple were their friends and relatives who were invited for the dinner, not for sharing the joy of the couple at the wedding party. They were trying to smile in front of the camera. All pictures would be evidences to submit to Department of Immigration and Citizenship, so they were trying to do everything look real. In the yellow light, Kevin Tran was standing beside a wedding-cake and slowly kissed Vicky’s lips. The flash of camera fired.

Vicky Nguyen just paid AU$ 20,000 to Kevin Tran before the wedding, the second time. Previously, she had deposited AU$ 5,000 fifteen days ago when Kevin had agreed to help her with a sham marriage. She will pay additional AU$ 40,000 when she gets permanent resident visa. Totally, she will have to pay around AU$ 75,000 for her dream to become an Australian citizen. That is huge money with many people who are in her hometown and many Australian as well. But, to her, that is an acceptable price, because if she does sham marriage with another foreigner in her hometown it may cost more than AU$ 80,000.
“My parents borrowed money from my family’s relatives. After getting permanent resident visa already, I will work hard to pay the loan and sponsor my parents to migrate to Australia. Sydney is the greatest city for living that is the reason I do sham marriage”, Vicky said.

Brian Pham (*), another Vietnamese student in Sydney, has paid AU$ 40,000 in cash for his sham marriage with a Vietnamese – Australian girl. He will pay extra AU$ 45,000 when he holds the permanent resident visa. Besides that, he has to pay for the wedding party and any related fees. The man will pay totally around AU$ 95,000.

“There is a different price of sham marriage between man and woman. If you do sham marriage with a Vietnamese - Australian girl, it is always more expensive, about AU$ 10,000 – 20,000 more,” Brian Pham explained.

Getting a sham marriage in Australia is not too hard, Brian Pham said. “There are many advertisements on local or community newspapers. After choosing one of them, I just prepare money and follow their advices. The marriage celebrant service covers everything and they told me do not worry anything. That is their business so they know the best way to do”.

Brian Pham, 20, look too young for marriage, but he is ready for any interview with Department of Immigration and Citizenship. And now, he is waiting for the fortune.

“Easy job”

Kevin Tran, 20, who is jobless and lives in Cabramatta, said that he is doing an easy business and win-win situation.

“I need money to buy a car and Vicky wants to stay in Australia”, he said.

He said he had to share 10 percent of his income from the sham marriage with an agency which offered to arrange the commercial marriage. The final payment is usually made after two years when the marriage is declared lawful; actually, the agency takes their money in the second payment when they organize the wedding party.

“That is quite long but the profit from this affair can solve many problems when I do not have a job. The interesting thing is that I do nothing but I get amount of money. It is an easy job”, Kevin Tran added.

He looks really confident and believes that Vicky Nguyen and he can pass the interview of Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

“The agency is really professional in this kind of affair so they prepare many possible questions for us. Besides that, they (agency) arranged many evidences such as letter, pictures to submit to Department of Immigration and Citizenship to argue our historical relationship. So, I think it is not easy to detect the sham marriage if we do not say”, Kevin Tran said.

Kevin Tran unveil that he is the second one in his family doing commercial marriage. His sister was offered to arrange a sham union with a Vietnamese man one year ago.

“Everything done well and my sister got AU$ 60,000 to help my family rebuild the house. She will get the last payment in several months when her partner getting PR (permanent resident)”, Kevin Tran said.

Linda Le, who is Kevin Tran’s mother, added: “I have another son. He is now 16 years old. The agency will offer him to do commercial marriage as growing up”.

Linda and her son know that sham marriage is an illegal affair, but they think that they do nothing wrong.

“We do not steal anything from others. Our business does not threaten anyone. It is simple that we help others who want to live in Australia and we get some money to spend for living cost. Of course, we will not do this if we are a well-to-do family,” Linda said.

Kevin and his mother do not want to disclose any information about the agency that is arranging his commercial marriage and offering his young brother. However, it is not too difficult to find an agency to do the kind of illegal business. There are many advertisements on community newspapers as a type of marriage celebrant services, migration services and law consultancy services; actually they arrange the commercial marriage to their customer as a major business.

There were 220 partner visas canceled and nearly 3,150 applications for partner visas dismissed due to marriage scam in 2009, according to Herald Sun. However, the number is still small in fact when the applications for partner visa are rising remarkably and many oversea students as well as foreigners are still expecting sham marriage as an easy way to get a permanent resident visa and to be an Australian citizenship.

(*) The real names of characters in the article have been changed.

Source: Cong T. Phan (Sydney, Australia)/VNN

Hmmmm! This is very2X interesting indeed!!!!!

Reporter: Bryan Seymour Channel 7 Perth

Immigration to our shores is running at record levels and so too is the boom in illegal immigrants. One of their favourite methods for scamming permanent residency is to catch and marry single Aussies. Immigration officials are cracking down on fake marriages, but as Bryan Seymour reports, it's sometimes impossible to know when love is true or false.

In the last decade, spousal visa applications to Australia jumped from 26,000 to 40,000 a year. Hundreds of phoney fiancés and spouses were kicked out last year

Less than three per cent of applicants are investigated.

"After meeting her for six weeks, she was pregnant, we were married," said Darwin man Neil Forsyth. Mr Forsyth claims he was targetted by a Thai woman.

"I've always liked Asian women and she was very clean, she wasn't a working girl, she was a very good cook, very good in the house. I was led to believe that she was an accountant, I was led to believe that she would pay for her ticket out here [And you were led to believe she loved you?] Yes. I think, she loved Australia and I was just the stepping stone to get there," Mr Forsyth said.

Neil's ex wife Pharin also lives in Darwin with their three year old daughter. Pharin claims their marriage was genuine but Neil was no great catch and that's why it broke down.

This was confirmed after an investigation by the Department of Immigration.

"The Department, other independent organisations and agencies including the Commonwealth Ombudsman have all looked at the claims that he (Neil) has made and there has been no substantiation and no evidence to support the suggestion that there has been a marriage scam or marriage fraud" says Sandi Logan from the Department of Immigration. He is adamant that the two stage process for spousal visas is a good deterrent to scammers.

This process requires foreign spouses to live with their partner for two years and they may be tested on their truthfulness by the Bona Fide units, set up in states across the country.

"Differentiating between love and fraud is not a given, what we are interested in determining is that the evidence and the paperwork and the documentation put before us is true and accurate that it is not a forged document," Sandi said.

A documentary on Thai woman seeking foreigners to marry (see link below) detailed the desperate lives these women lead and showed how marrying a western man is their best hope out of hardship and misery.

They're even more brazen in India where migration agents and internet surfers state plainly what they want, with posts including: "Paper marriage for Australia" and "Looking for a girl to do a paper marriage just to get residency in Australia."

The Times of India newspaper detailed how brides and grooms are contracted to marry, just so they can move here.

"If they are operating in India, or in China, or in Canada, or in the UK or anywhere overseas, our laws don't control their activities so it is a real challenge for us," said says Sandi Logan.

Neil Forsyth reckons he's spent more than $20,000 on his failed relationship, while the other woman we spoke with estimated she's out of pocket to the tune of $60,000. There's also a hefty cost for the scammers, if they're caught.

"It can include criminal charges under the Migration Act, under visa fraud it can include cancellation of the visa, and ultimately removal from the country. In the least we can refuse and we often do in 3000 instances to grant a visa in the last financial year," said Logan.

"The first time I met him was through a chat session." This person told us, on condition of anonymity, about her foreign husband. The couple are estranged although her ex is being paid by Centrelink because he's now a permanent resident.

He married her and came here. As soon as the two years was up he left her and she discovered he was already married to a woman back home.

"I know her first name, I can't pronounce it because it's some Muslim name and I'm not racist by any means and I must stress that," said the woman.

She warned that her estranged husband and his countrymen laughingly abuse our system; marrying under false pretences and even claiming worker's compensation because we are, in their words, stupid enough to offer it.

"I can't say that 100% with certainty each and every partnership visa is not in someway or another contrived but in 99.9% of cases we are
quite confident that we have made the right decision to grant a visa or to reject a visa application," Sandi Logan said.

"I love him and him love me, I don't tell him he have to marry me, no, nothing," said Pharin.

Neil and Pharin's daughter is now three years old and they now share custody of her. Both say they want to remain friends for her sake.

"I probably should be angry with myself cause I married her, but I trusted the information that was fed to me at the time," said Neil.

Story Links:

Department of Immigration

Dob-In Line: 1800 009 623

http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/compliance/staying-legally/dob-in-line.htm

Documentary: My Boyfriend the Sex Tourist (Used with permission of SBS)

http://www.enhancetv.com.au/shop/product.php?productid=144554&cat=330&page=40