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New Zealand open to Cricket World Cup visa scammers
A transtasman agreement that allows easier movement between Australia and New Zealand during the Cricket World Cup could be open to abuse by travellers who have no intention of attending the games. Supporters who already have an Australian visa can pick up a three-month visitor visa when they land in New Zealand.
This means that people holding game tickets coming in from countries where a visa would usually be required will be allowed to enter without having to go through the usual financial and medical checks and will not have to provide a reason for entering the country.
According to the New Zealand Herald a Chinese passport holder entered the country with a ticket for a game between Scotland and Bangladesh but admitted to an immigration adviser that he would not be attending. The adviser claimed that the man had a job in a restaurant waiting for him.
Rachel Purdom, spokeswoman for Immigration New Zealand, said several Chinese nationals had been denied flights earlier in the week because the dates for the cricket matches were after their planned departure raising suspicion that the visitors were coming to New Zealand for other purposes.
Cricket fans are given time before and after the World Cup to take advantage of the visa exemption arrangement.
This means that people holding game tickets coming in from countries where a visa would usually be required will be allowed to enter without having to go through the usual financial and medical checks and will not have to provide a reason for entering the country.
According to the New Zealand Herald a Chinese passport holder entered the country with a ticket for a game between Scotland and Bangladesh but admitted to an immigration adviser that he would not be attending. The adviser claimed that the man had a job in a restaurant waiting for him.
Rachel Purdom, spokeswoman for Immigration New Zealand, said several Chinese nationals had been denied flights earlier in the week because the dates for the cricket matches were after their planned departure raising suspicion that the visitors were coming to New Zealand for other purposes.
Cricket fans are given time before and after the World Cup to take advantage of the visa exemption arrangement.
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