Nepalese Bipul Pokharel says he thought his prayers for a better future had been answered when he was offered an opportunity to work in New Zealand in a high-paying job that would lead to residency.

It would cost him $30,000, which he had to pay an agent in Nepal to secure a work visa and the job that would potentially pay $100,000 a year and make him a Kiwi.

But when the 27-year-old arrived, he was sent to a restaurant in east Auckland where he had to work 100 hours per week with no days off and was paid a minimum wage for just 35 of those hours.

Nepalese Honorary Consul to New Zealand Dinesh Khadka says Pokharel is one of hundreds of Nepalese nationals who have fallen for “lies and scams” paying between $25,000 to $30,000 for non-existent job offers, jobs in “slave labour conditions” or visitors that allow them to come only as tourists.

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The consulate has issued a warning on its Facebook page about the visa scams and Immigration NZ is urging victims to report them to their local law enforcement agencies.

INZ general manager Richard Owen confirmed there was an active investigation into the claims.

In the 2022/23 Financial Year, INZ offloaded 867 people from flights to New Zealand who were deemed ineligible for entry, of which 16 were Nepalese nationals.

“We encourage anyone who is a victim of a visa scam to report it to their local law enforcement agencies in their country of residence, or the country where the scam occurred,” Owen said....

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