Dozens of dishonest Chinese immigrants who tried to defraud the Australian visa system are now complaining about being duped by dodgy migration agents.
One “victims” group alone has more than 90 members who paid over $10 million to agents to set them up with fake spouses so they could get permanent residency.
One failed visa scammer, an international student called “Jerry”, admitted to SBS News that he used Chinese e-commerce app Xiaohongshu to find a skilled migration visa applicant who would let him be her fake spouse for tens of thousands of dollars.
He met a migration agent in April, signed a contract in May, paid a $5,000 deposit, was matched with a “nurse” with a high “migration score”, and then began fabricating evidence that they were a real couple.
“We had to start building a de-facto relationship. The (agent) required us to go out together for meals, take intimate photos. The (agent) would instruct us how to pose,” Jerry said.
The fake couple opened a joint bank account, and the agent said he would be granted a permanent visa by Christmas.
Jerry then paid a second instalment only for his fake spouse to then admit she was a fraud, claiming she had been “tricked” by the migration agent into playing the role with him and others trying to get fake secondary applicant visas.
The dishonest student then called the Department of Home Affairs ,which confirmed that there was not even an application in his name, and said “from that day my life just stopped”.
Jerry and some other so-called victims confronted the dodgy agents but were told “if you keep making trouble, we will make sure you cannot stay in Australia”.
“They said they would report our visas, and even insulted us as ‘trash from China’s lower class’,” he said.
“Some victims said their visas really had been reported by the agents, leaving them without any valid status in Australia, forcing them to return home.”
Jerry has since reported the agent to NSW Police and has been given a case number.
Department of Home Affairs data shows that of the permanent skilled visas granted every year, a slim majority go to secondary applicants, and of the remaining primary applicants, three quarters go to those already in Australia.
Last month the Australian Border Force revealed six dodgy migration agents were being deported after carrying out a similar scam targeting dishonest Protection Visa applicants in Queensland and Victoria.
Header image: Left, a message on Chinese social media (SBS). Right, Chinatown Melbourne (Photo by Dr Jorge Reyna – Pexels).
