Last month a woman overseas contacted our office. We'll call her Priya. She had a New Zealand job offer and a thick folder of paperwork: an Immigration New Zealand tax invoice, an email from "Immigration Online", a medical appointment, and a letter saying her residence visa was "approved in principle". She wanted us to check the job offer before she paid the next fee.
Every document about her visa was fake. There was no residence application, no approval, and no job waiting for her.
We're sharing her story, with her identity removed, because NZ job offer scams and fake INZ letters are becoming more convincing. We're also sharing the free public tools we used to check everything, so you can do it yourself before you pay anyone. If something in your own paperwork looks like what's described below, stop and verify before you send money.
What the scammers sent: a document-by-document breakdown
1. The "approval in principle" letter asking for a $70,000 bond
This was the centrepiece. It had INZ and New Zealand Government logos, an officer's name, and a signature. It said her residence visa was approved "in principle" if she lodged a NZD $70,000 bond in a "government-regulated trust account". It also said her husband had been banned from New Zealand for a year for being "aggressive" towards an immigration officer. Finally, it offered a way to have the bond "waived" if she stayed overseas to give birth and got the baby a passport first.
These are the red flags:
- Template brackets left in the text. The letter said she had applied under the "[Skilled Migrant]" category, and the bond would be held for "[12/24 months]". Real INZ decision letters are generated from INZ's own systems. They don't contain unfilled template placeholders.
- INZ does not ask residence applicants to pay large bonds into trust accounts. Any request to move a large sum into an account to "unlock" a visa should be treated as a scam until proven otherwise.
- The visa category didn't match. The medical paperwork said Straight to Residence, but the letter said Skilled Migrant. Those are different pathways with different requirements.
- An old passport. The letter used a passport that had already been replaced months earlier. INZ would normally have the current details on file.
- Emotional pressure. A family member was "banned", there was a pregnancy angle, and she had 30 days to respond or the application "may be closed". Scammers create fear and urgency so you act before you think.
- A pasted-on signature. When we zoomed in, the signature image had its own tiny "Yours sincerely" text inside it, which suggests it was copied from another document.
2. The "Immigration Online" email
The email appeared to come from INZ's no-reply address. It asked for evidence of the couple living together, joint bills and joint finances.
- It said "As discussed", yet it was sent from an automated no-reply address. Automated systems don't have conversations.
- It was sent to a free webmail-style "consultant" address, not to the client or a licensed adviser. When we checked, the person behind that address was not on the register of licensed immigration advisers.
- Display names and sender addresses can be spoofed. A logo and a government-looking sender prove nothing. Check that the application actually exists through INZ directly.
3. The INZ tax invoice
This was a tidy invoice showing a resident visa fee paid by credit card, with an application number. Invoices are very easy to copy. The only way to confirm a payment went to INZ is to check the application inside your own Immigration Online account, or to contact INZ directly. You can also compare the amount with INZ's official fee finder.
4. The medical (the part that may have been real)
Priya had been sent to a real panel clinic for a chest X-ray and paid the clinic's fee. A real medical does not prove a real visa application. Medical referrals (eMedical) can be created early in a process, and scammers use a genuine clinic visit to make everything else look believable. If you've paid a clinic, that part may be fine. The question is whether anything after it was real.
Who is being targeted
These scams tend to target:
- People overseas with a job offer they found through social media, WhatsApp groups or an "agent"
- Couples and families, where one partner's situation can be used to put pressure on the other
- People who have already paid something, because scammers know you're more likely to keep paying so you don't "lose" what you've spent
If you've already paid, you haven't done anything foolish. These operations are professional. What matters now is to stop paying and verify.
The free verification toolkit: check before you pay
Every tool below is free, public and run by the New Zealand Government or a statutory body. The checker at the top of this page links to most of them. Bookmark this page.
Check the employer
1. NZBN Register: does the business exist?
Every legitimate NZ business can be looked up on the NZBN register. Search the employer's name or its 13-digit NZBN. Then compare the registered name, address and trading names with what's on your job offer. If the business isn't there, or the details don't match, treat that as a red flag.
2. Companies Office Register: who runs it, and is it still trading?
The Companies Register shows each company's directors, shareholders, registered address, incorporation date and status (registered, in liquidation or removed). Check whether:
- the person who "offered" you the job is actually a director, or at least plausibly works there
- the company was set up very recently, which is common with shell companies used in scams
- it's in liquidation or has been struck off
You can also check the Companies Office list of banned and disqualified directors, and the Insolvency and Trustee Service register.
3. INZ Accredited Employer list: can they legally hire you on an AEWV?
INZ's tool lets you check whether an employer is currently accredited. You can search by the 13-digit NZBN (all 13 digits must be entered) or by company or trading name (at least the first 3 characters). Use the official page, Check if an employer is accredited. Private "lists" on other websites can be out of date. If an employer isn't accredited, it generally can't support an Accredited Employer Work Visa.
4. Employment NZ: has the employer breached employment law?
Employment New Zealand publishes a list of employers who have breached minimum employment standards, including those stood down from supporting migrant visas. Search the employer's name.
5. VisaView: how real employers check your visa
VisaView is Immigration New Zealand's free online service for employers. A registered NZ employer enters a worker's name, date of birth and passport details, and VisaView confirms whether that person holds a valid visa and is allowed to work.
VisaView is for employers, so you can't use it to check yourself. It's still a useful test:
- Ask the employer how they'll check your visa once you arrive. A genuine NZ employer will know about VisaView or checking your visa with INZ. If they've never heard of it, be cautious.
- To check your own visa, log in to your own Immigration Online account, or contact INZ using the details on immigration.govt.nz. A real visa will show up there. A fake "approval letter" won't.
- If someone sends you a "visa" as a PDF, a genuine one can be confirmed with INZ. A scammer will find excuses for why you can't check it.
Check the person helping you
6. Immigration Advisers Authority register: are they licensed?
In New Zealand, anyone giving immigration advice, onshore or offshore, must be licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority unless they're exempt (for example, NZ lawyers). Search the IAA public register. A genuine adviser will give you their licence number without hesitation. Our own advisers are listed there too.
7. NZ Law Society "Find a Lawyer": are they a real NZ lawyer?
If someone says they're a New Zealand lawyer, or sends you a "lawyer's fee" invoice, look them up on the New Zealand Law Society's Find a lawyer directory. Also check that the firm name and email domain match.
Check the "INZ" paperwork
8. Your own Immigration Online account. Every genuine online application is visible in the applicant's own account, or through their licensed adviser. If you've never seen the application yourself, ask why.
9. INZ's fee finder. Compare any fee with the official amount for that visa type on immigration.govt.nz. INZ fees are paid to INZ, not into a personal or third-party bank account.
10. INZ's list of panel physicians. This confirms whether a clinic is approved. Remember that a genuine clinic doesn't make the rest of the process genuine.
11. Contact INZ directly. Use the contact details on immigration.govt.nz. Never use the phone number or email in the suspicious document.
Check the digital trail
12. Find out how old a website really is (domain lookup, explained simply)
Every website and email address has a domain, which is the part after the "@" in an email, or after "www." in a web address. In [email protected], the domain is kiwibuild-careers.com.
Anyone can register a domain in about five minutes, but the registration date is public. That makes it one of the best scam checks there is.
- Find the domain. Take the email address or website and keep only the part after the "@" or "www.". The checker at the top of this page does this for you.
- Pick the right lookup. If it ends in .nz (such as .co.nz or .org.nz), use the Domain Name Commission lookup. For anything else (.com, .net, .org and so on), use ICANN's lookup.
- Read the "created" or "registered" date. A company that says it has "been hiring migrants for 15 years" but registered its domain last month is lying.
What else to look for:
- Lookalike names.
immigration-govt-nz.comis not a government address. NZ government agencies use addresses ending in .govt.nz. - Free email. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and mail.com (including its "@consultant.com" style addresses) are free and anyone can sign up. INZ staff don't use them.
- Hidden owner details. Privacy protection is common and isn't proof of a scam on its own. A brand-new, hidden domain combined with a large job offer is a strong warning sign.
- A matching domain doesn't prove it's real. Scammers can fake the sender name on an email. Always confirm your application through INZ directly.
13. Reverse-search the job ad. Paste the job title and company into a search engine and check the employer's own careers page. Scam ads often copy real listings word for word.
Paid an agent in your home country? Read this before you sign
Many people are scammed by an "agent" or "consultant" in their own country, not by anyone in New Zealand. The agreement is made there, the money is paid there, and often the person has disappeared by the time the problem surfaces.
What NZ can and can't do
NZ law says anyone giving advice on NZ immigration must be a licensed immigration adviser or an NZ lawyer, wherever they are in the world. You can report an unlicensed overseas agent to the Immigration Advisers Authority, and you should report fake documents to INZ.
Getting your money back is a different matter. If you paid a person or company in another country, under an agreement made in that country, New Zealand authorities usually can't recover it for you. NZ Police have no power to arrest someone in India, the Philippines or elsewhere, and INZ doesn't handle private money disputes. Your main route to recovery is usually the law and the police in your own country. Rules differ between countries, so check the laws that apply where you live.
Before you pay an agent at home: get a proper written agreement
A real professional will give you a written agreement before taking money. Make sure it includes:
- The agent's full legal name, business registration number and physical address. Check these on your country's official business register.
- Their licence details, if your country requires one. In India, for example, overseas recruitment agents must be registered under the Emigration Act, and you can check registered agents on the government's eMigrate portal. Other countries have similar regulators. Search "[your country] licensed overseas recruitment agency".
- Exactly what they'll do, with named services. Vague wording like "full visa processing" isn't enough.
- Every fee, itemised, with what's paid to them and what's paid to INZ. INZ fees should be paid to INZ, and you should be able to see the payment in your own Immigration Online account.
- The refund policy in writing, including what happens if there's no job or the visa is declined.
- Who the NZ licensed adviser or lawyer is, with their licence or practising number, if the agent says they're "working with someone in NZ".
- Signatures and dates from both sides, with a copy you keep.
- Payment to a business bank account in the company's name, never a personal account, and always with a receipt.
If an agent refuses to put any of this in writing, don't pay.
If it has already gone wrong: file a police complaint in your home country, tell your bank, report the agent to your country's recruitment or consumer regulator, and ask a local lawyer about consumer or fraud remedies. In India, that could include the Consumer Commission and a complaint to the Protector of Emigrants. Also report it to the IAA and INZ, so they can warn others and flag fake documents.
Why using an NZ licensed adviser or NZ lawyer protects you
This isn't only a sales point. The protections are built into NZ law.
NZ licensed immigration advisers (LIAs) must:
- hold a licence you can check on the public IAA register
- follow a legally binding Code of Conduct
- give you a written agreement setting out the services, fees and refund terms before you pay
- keep client money properly and give you receipts
- have an internal complaints process, with the right to complain to the IAA and the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal, which can order refunds, compensation, or suspension and cancellation of a licence
NZ lawyers are regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. They must hold client money in a trust account that is audited and inspected, and they're covered by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act complaints system. You can check a lawyer on the Law Society's "Find a lawyer" directory.
The difference in practice: if something goes wrong with an NZ LIA or lawyer, you have a real, independent body to complain to, and the adviser has a licence to lose. With an unlicensed overseas agent, you may have nothing but a WhatsApp number that stops answering.
You can use the "Check the adviser or lawyer" tool at the top of this page to confirm anyone's details in under a minute. Our advisers (IAA 201401130 and IAA 202100174) are on that register too.
Quick red-flag checklist
Stop and verify if any of these apply:
- You're asked to pay a bond, "security deposit", "release fee" or "clearance fee" to unlock a visa
- Payment goes to a personal account, a crypto wallet or an overseas "trust account"
- The letter contains [brackets], mismatched visa categories or old passport details
- An automated or no-reply email says "as discussed"
- You've never seen the application in your own Immigration Online account
- The person helping you won't give an IAA licence number
- The employer isn't on the NZBN register, the Companies Register or the accredited employer list
- There's a short deadline combined with bad news about a family member
What to do if you've been targeted
- Stop all payments and don't send more documents or ID.
- Keep everything: emails with full headers, screenshots, receipts and chat logs.
- Report it to Immigration New Zealand, and to the Immigration Advisers Authority if an unlicensed person gave advice.
- Report to NZ Police (online or on 105) and to Netsafe or the National Cyber Security Centre for online fraud. If you're overseas, report to your local police too.
- Call your bank straight away. Card payments can sometimes be disputed.
- Watch for "recovery scams". Victims are often contacted by people offering to get their money back for a fee. That's the same scam again.
FAQ
Does INZ ever ask for a bond before granting residence?
No. Immigration New Zealand charges published application fees and levies, and they are paid to INZ through its own official channels — they appear against your application in your Immigration Online account. INZ does not ask residence applicants to place large sums in a "trust account" to have a visa approved, and it does not offer to "waive" such a payment in return for anything. Requests like that are a hallmark of the scam described here. If you receive one, do not pay. Confirm it directly with INZ using the contact details on immigration.govt.nz, not the ones in the letter or email you were sent.
My medical appointment was real. Does that mean my visa application is real?
Not necessarily. A medical examination can be booked and completed without any visa application existing, so scammers often use a genuine clinic visit to make fake documents believable. What matters is whether the application itself exists: log in to your own Immigration Online account and check that the application is listed there, or contact INZ using the details on immigration.govt.nz. Also check that the visa category on your medical paperwork matches the category named in every other document you have been sent — in the case above it did not.
Can an employer that isn't accredited offer me a job for a work visa?
Not for an Accredited Employer Work Visa. The employer must hold current INZ accreditation and have completed a Job Check for the role before you can be granted that visa. You can check this yourself for free: search the employer on INZ's published list of accredited employers, and confirm the company exists on the NZBN register and the Companies Register using its NZBN or company name. If you cannot find the business on any of them, treat the job offer as unverified and pay nothing.
How do I know if an immigration adviser is genuine?
Ask for their full name and Immigration Advisers Authority licence number in writing, then check the number on the IAA public register yourself — a genuine adviser will give it without hesitation. New Zealand lawyers are exempt from licensing, so check them on the New Zealand Law Society register instead. Anyone who gives New Zealand immigration advice without being licensed or exempt is breaking the law. If the person helping you will not give a licence number or lawyer details, stop and get a second opinion before paying anything.
Can NZ Police get my money back from an agent in my home country?
Usually not. Money paid to someone overseas under an agreement made overseas generally has to be recovered through the police and courts in that country, so report it to the local police there and get legal advice locally. You should still report the agent to the Immigration Advisers Authority and to INZ, because that can stop them harming other people and can matter to your own immigration record. Keep every receipt, message and document — it is your evidence in any complaint or claim.
You don't have to check this alone
If anything in your paperwork feels off, trust that instinct. Checking takes ten minutes, and a mistake can cost you your savings. Our licensed advisers (IAA 201401130 and IAA 202100174) have practised in Auckland since 2014. We're happy to look over a job offer or INZ letter with you in a free 15-minute consultation. You can reach us on WhatsApp (+64 21 227 4246) or phone (+64 9 213 1677).
This article is general information, not personal immigration advice. Every case is different.