Australia bans Sikh woman from immigration assistance over false visa claims

An Indian-origin migration agent, Vaneet Kaur Chadha, has been banned from practising in Australia for five years, with regulators detailing a string of serious violations, ranging from filing false statements in visa applications with Australia's Department of Home Affairs, to misleading conduct during an official probe, declaring her "not a person of integrity".

A migration agent in Australia refers to Registered Migration Agents (RMAs), who are qualified professionals registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA). They are responsible for providing lawful immigration assistance, including visa eligibility assessments, application preparation, and submission for skilled, family, and student visas.

Chadha, who held Migration Agent Registration Number (MARN) 1686379, was first registered in September 2016. She was associated with Sydney-based Royal Migration & Education Consultants.

OMARA cancelled Chadha's registration as an RMA on March 25 after its investigation found that she had "Failed to act in accordance with the law, specifically section 312A of the Act, by failing to declare immigration assistance she provided to clients." It further found she had made "False and misleading statements in support of applications and to the Department, which she knew to be false or misleading."

Her advertising was also ruled "false or misleading when advertising on the internet" and she "implied the existence of a relationship with the Department." In addition, OMARA found that Chadha "failed to provide proper supervision of her staff and facilitated a member of her business to provide unlawful immigration assistance."

The regulator was particularly critical of her conduct during the probe, noting she had "provided false and misleading information to the Authority and did not respond to requests from the Authority in its entirety."

According to OMARA, these breaches violated multiple provisions of the Migration Act 1958 as well as both the Codes of Conduct of RMA's.

OMARA concluded that Chadha had failed to take all reasonable steps to maintain the reputation and integrity of the migration advice profession and had "acted in a way that was intended to defeat the purpose of the migration law and acted in a way that was intended to evade a requirement of the migration law."

In its order, OMARA declared she is "not a person of integrity" or "otherwise a fit and proper person to provide immigration assistance".

Rejecting her defence, in which Kaur stated she had "made consistent efforts to cooperate fully with the authority's investigation by responding to multiple notices and providing documentation when requested", the authority imposed the five-year ban.

Chadha is barred from re-registering as an RMA until 25 March 2031.

Vaneet Kaur Chadha is hardly the first Indian-origin migration agent to face disciplinary action. A review of the list of "disciplinary decisions" on the OMARA website revealed multiple Indian-origin individuals who had their licences suspended or cancelled last year for charges including providing false documentation in visa applications, making false declarations while registering to become an agent, and engaging in conduct of a criminal nature.