An immigration adviser has been ordered to pay more than $21,000 after trying to exploit a client and giving inappropriate advice to another.
Rajesh Kumar of Hannahraj Consultants Limited in Manukau, tried to demand an extra $1000 from an Indian manager by withholding his passport and gave such poor advice to another Indian national that his client ended up being in New Zealand unlawfully.
In the first case, Kumar received $3600 in cash to help an Indian manager secure a residence permit. However, when it became clear that the application had been successful, he demanded more money and retained his client’s passport knowing that Immigration New Zealand would be unable to issue the permit until he released it.
It was only when the migrant complained to the Immigration Advisers Authority that Kumar released the passport.
It later transpired that Kumar had also faxed a demand for $500 to the manager’s work place intending to embarrass him and enlisted a debt collection agency, which demanded additional fees and threatened the migrant with a poor credit rating if he failed to pay.
The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal chair described the actions as ‘beyond belief.’
Kumar blamed his client’s aunt for the absence of a receipt because, “an illiterate person may be considered as not sharp enough to ask for a receipt” and blamed his own mental health saying he “lost his memory to the extent he cannot recognise his clients and he cannot distinguish between reality and imagination.”
The Tribunal chair refused to accept the adviser’s excuse, saying, “He wrote a coherent account of that claim and provided no independent support, medical or otherwise.”
The chair added, “I was left in no doubt from Mr Kumar’s attitude and actions; he thought his professional standing would allow him to exploit a client with impunity, and he systematically sought to do so in this case. This factor makes the offending more serious and the penalty should reflect the offence.”
Kumar surrendered his licence, was ordered to pay compensation of $1500, a penalty of $7500 and was prevented from reapplying for an immigration adviser licence for two years.
Incompetent Adviser
In a second case, Kumar was reprimanded for incompetence and unprofessional behaviour after giving poor advice that resulted in his client becoming unlawful.
Instead of following the advice given by Immigration New Zealand, Kumar told his client to follow an alternative path to updating his work visa.
When his approach failed, the migrant was pushed into the position of being in New Zealand unlawfully and hired a lawyer to obtain the work permit and help lodge a complaint with the Immigration Advisers Authority.
In response, Kumar sent a letter to the lawyer claiming his new client was a convict and lodged a complaint about the migrant’s lawyer to the New Zealand Law Society.
He also told the tribunal that he could not call another adviser to give a second opinion on his immigration advice as he knew of no more experienced immigration adviser than himself.
The Tribunal chair said: “It is a recurring theme of the adviser’s response to the complaint that his own understanding of immigration matters is superior to that of others; and reconsideration of a position he has taken is an affront to his dignity.
“Mr Kumar’s misconduct is largely a result of his wrong and contemptuous views of the immigration regime he is required to work with.
“The personal denigration of a former client and their counsel as a response to a complaint is wholly unprofessional, and I regard that conduct as reprehensible.”
Kumar was ordered to pay compensation of $8276 and a penalty of $4000.
Source: The Immigration Advisers Authority, Auckland
