The Immigration Licensing Act 2007 is enforced today in New Zealand. It is good news for some and sad news for thousands of potential migrants in New Zealand. Imagine you paid NZ$10,000 or $15,000 fee to your unlicensed migration consultant a few months ago for processing your work visa or permit, business migration or skill-shortage migration; your agent cannot proceed to act for you regarding your application. Many are left with delima now and uncertain how to move on to the next step.This Act is shocker for the "amature" migration consultant; as there are about 171 licensed consultants out of the estimated 1,200 in New Zealand. This Act made it to the front page of New Zealand Herald newspaper, click here for the news. What does the Act says: * All NZ-based immigration advisers must be licensed from today. * Just 171 of the estimated 1200 advisers have so far got licences. * A licence costs $1995. * Unlicensed agents face fines up to $100,000, seven years' jail and reparations. * Overseas-based immigration advisers have until May 2010 to get licensed. You can verify more details information from New Zealand's government website http://www.immigration.govt.nz/ and it stated: "From 4 May 2009 anyone who provides immigration advice in New Zealand must have a licence from the Immigration Advisers Authority, unless they are exempt from the requirement to hold a licence. From 4 May 2009, Immigration New Zealand will refuse to accept applications from unlicensed onshore advisers."So, if you are planning to use a professional consultant with proper licensing, please check their names at official Immigration Adviser Authority website, you can searched for licensed consultant here.If you are lost and need advice, please consult the guidelines on the New Zealand Immigration Service site for specific dettails. If you have more questions or doubt, click here for more information.Some will claim that they are lincensed or even producing fake/forged licenses to hang on the wall. The one thing to make sure is check the consultant's legal name and verify it on the government IAA website.Do not simply part with your money, put your faith and build your dream on those unlicensed consultant. Hey, to begin with, the consultant must be able to speak and fleunt English. Reputable and professional immigration consultant do not normall advertise on the media. They get tons of new clients from their success case.Most noticeable of all are those chap who advertised on the etnic newspaper claimings absurd things like:"No success, no fee. We standby our words""Largest migration consulting group in the world""We have helped thousands to get the PR (Permenant Residence)""The most trusted migration consultant in New Zealand""We the most reputable consultant and considered by many as the experts"They can claim what they want, they are not legal and licensed consultant unless they real name is listed under the government website.
By Jennifer Pak BBC News, Beijing
Many Chinese people were outraged by Gong Li's decision
One of China's most famous actresses has been accused of being unpatriotic after becoming a Singaporean citizen.
Some say Gong Li, star of the film Memoirs of a Geisha, has turned her back on her Chinese fans.
But the actress is not the only Chinese citizen to seek another country's passport.
They do it for convenience, to improve job prospects and as a safety net.
Despite China's increasing economic and political power, a Chinese passport is still seen as restrictive by many of its citizens.
Gong Li, whose husband is from Singapore, is just one of many film stars who have given up their Chinese passport.
According to news reports, Hong Kong film star Jet Li holds US citizenship. And Zhang Ziyi, the star of kung fu movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, holds a Hong Kong residency card.
Gong Li's passport switch led to a commentary in the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper.
"We should think about why our laws, our system and cultural society have churned out so many of these so-called 'super citizens', people who live in China but their hearts are set on being a citizen in another country," it said.
'Still Chinese'
Kong Ting, who was born in China but is now a US citizen, is not surprised that Gong Li switched to a Singaporean passport.
I feel safer when I come back to China and I say certain things that the Chinese government doesn't like Kong Ting"A lot of times when Chinese do things it's for practical reasons, to make life easier and for more financial gain," she said Ms Kong, 36, has lived in the US for 15 years, and became an American citizen two years ago to make travelling to other countries easier. "I don't think getting a US citizenship makes me feel any less Chinese," she said.
With the exception of a few dozen south-east Asian and African countries, Chinese passport holders need to apply for visas in advance to go abroad which are sometimes difficult to get.
Most ordinary Chinese can only go abroad by joining tour groups, sometimes at very high costs.
Some tour companies reportedly charge up to 50,000 yuan ($7,300:£4,880) as a deposit to go to Japan.
This acts as a deterrent for people who are thinking of not returning to China after the trip.
Another reason Ms Kong wanted an American passport was for security reasons.
"Maybe I feel safer when I come back to China and I say certain things that the Chinese government doesn't like," she said. "They can't really hold it against me."
Tax reasons
Wu Hao, from Sichuan Province, has studied and worked in the US, and soon hopes to get his hands on a US passport.
A new passport can bring new freedoms for former Chinese citizensHe said as a student, getting a US passport was the ultimate goal in life.
"For my generation and older, we wanted a foreign passport so bad," said the 36-year-old.
"We grew up in an environment when China was not secure, when things changed so fast in China. Everyone just wanted to get out as soon as we could back in those days," he said.
Mr Wu moved back to China four years ago.
He will be eligible for an American passport in a few years time, but a small part of him hesitates about trading in his Chinese passport.
"I wonder if I really want to abandon my Chinese identity. I don't know," he added.
Mr Wu said many of his friends are much more practical about citizenship.
"I have a friend who recently gave up his American green card status in order not to pay US tax," said Mr Wu.
"A lot of Chinese friends I know who make a decent or relatively high salary in China, they're considering alternatives, trying to evade tax," he said.
Mr Wu said people who were outraged by Gong Li's switch to Singaporean citizenship are blowing it out of proportion. "If they got the chance [to get a foreign passport] they would immediately jump on it."
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