An Indian migration agent who helped bring thousands of immigrants a year into Australia has been struck off for a long list of violations, including lying on visa applications.
Vaneet Kaur Chadha, who worked at Sydney-based Royal Migration & Education Consultants, had her registration cancelled for five years last month following an investigation into her conduct by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA).
Chadha, who was first registered as a migration agent in 2016, was investigated after OMARA reviewed visa applications she submitted to the Department of Home Affairs and identified concerns, the office stated in its decision.
OMARA then found Chadha had “failed to act in accordance with the law” by failing to declare immigration assistance she provided to clients, provided false and misleading information, and made false and misleading statements in support of applications and to Home Affairs which she knew to be false or misleading.
The Authority further found Chadha engaged in false and misleading internet advertising, implied the existence of a relationship with Home Affairs, failed to supervise staff, and facilitated a member of her business to provide unlawful immigration assistance.
Chadha was also found to have failed in her duties relating to work or services performed by persons other than registered migration agents, failed to “take all reasonable steps to maintain the reputation and integrity of the migration advice profession”, and acted in “a way that was intended to defeat the purpose of migration law and acted in a way that was intended to evade a requirement of migration law”.
OMARA concluded Chadha was “not a person of integrity or is otherwise not a fit and proper person to give immigration assistance”.
Videos on Chadha’s former employer’s social media accounts, which still include her Migration Agent Registration Number, feature her speaking in English and Indian languages to spruik her migration services.
“With years of legal experience in migration matters, and being a migrant myself, I understand how overwhelming the migration journey could be,” she says in one clip from last year.
In another she warns Indian applicants that AI can now detect fake documents, and says: “Stay truthful and avoid future complications. Your integrity matters.”
Royal Migration & Education Consultants, also known as Royal International Migration Consultants, states on its website that it is one of Australia’s leading migration consultancies, has been operating since 2007, and helps thousands of immigrants get student and other visas every year.
Royal Migration & Education Consultants is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Header image: Vaneet Kaur Chadha (Instagram).
