Migrant exploitation is when you, as a migrant, are treated badly by your employer in a way that causes real harm to your economic, social, physical, or emotional well-being. For example, it could include things like:

• you had to pay your employer to get the job (sometimes called a “premium”)
• you have to give back part or all of your wages to your employer
• you get paid too little or nothing at all for your work
• you don’t get paid for all the hours you worked
• your boss says you worked less hours than you actually did
• your boss makes you work lots of hours, with no breaks
• you aren’t allowed to take time off from work
• you aren’t paid for public holidays or annual leave
• you can’t leave your workplace because the doors and windows are locked

Migrant exploitation is illegal, but still happens in New Zealand. If your employer chooses to treat you (or other employees) badly and doesn’t follow their legal obligations, they have breached New Zealand’s employment law. It’s likely they would have also breached New Zealand’s immigration and human rights law in that case.

Wages Protection Act 1983, s 12A AC 2A/03, 9 July 2003, Employment Court

No. It’s against the law for an employer to charge money (a “premium”) for a job. Your employer also can’t ask you to pay them back for the cost of recruiting you.

You can make a claim in the Employment Relations Authority to recover the premium if:

• you’ve paid the premium into a New Zealand bank account, or
• it’s been deducted from your wages in New Zealand.

For information about going to the ERA, see: “The legal process for dealing with employment problems”.

Note: If you’ve paid a premium to an account or to someone outside of New Zealand, then the premium can’t be recovered in New Zealand.

You don’t have to put up with treatment from your employer that might be migrant exploitation. You can:

• Collect evidence about what’s happening (see below)
• Talk to a lawyer for free at a Community Law Centre and seek other support (see: “Where to go for more support”).
• Report what’s happening to Employment New Zealand at The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise (MBIE). They can also help you apply for a Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa.

You can talk with someone at a Community Law Centre about raising a personal grievance with your employer, and a wage and leave arrears claim if you are being underpaid. For more information about personal grievances, see: “Taking action through a personal grievance”).

Evidence can be used to show that what you are saying happened, did actually happen. Photos and videos, location data, and messages can be good evidence.

Take photos or videos on your phone while you’re at work. Your phone should record the date and time you took each photo or video. These could be used to show that you were at work longer than hours written on your payslip, for example.

You can also turn on location services on your phone so that it can use GPS tracking to record your location. This could be used to show when you were at work if your employer is not paying you for all the hours you worked. Your location data might also be helpful evidence if your employer is making you work on public holidays without paying you time and a half, with a different paid day off.

You could also talk to your phone provider (like Spark or One New Zealand) and ask them to give you the cell tower data during a particular time. That data may also show that your location was near to your workplace if your employer denies you were working then.

Keep (or screenshot) messages on WhatsApp, WeChat, or similar messaging services that show you are being exploited. For example, if your employer texts you your roster and it’s different from the hours you’re paid for.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise (MBIE) have a special call centre that deals with complaints about migrant exploitation. You can make a complaint over the phone during the week in working hours on 0800 200 088, or you can fill out their online form instead by going to

You should mention that your minimum employment rights may have been breached if you think they have been (see: “Employment Conditions and Protections”).

Once you raise a complaint, someone from MBIE will contact you to talk about your experiences. It is important to be open and honest with them. If they think you might have exploited by your employer, they’ll send you a “Report of Exploitation” letter. This letter says you might have been exploited and also says that you can apply for a Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa if you want to.

You will get an open work visa for 6 months which allows you to work for any employer, for any wage above the minimum wage. You can apply once to extend the visa for a further 6 months.

To apply the first time, you need two recent passport photos, a certified copy of the identification page of your passport, and a copy of the Report of Exploitation. A Community Law Centre, any law firm, or a Justice of the Peace can certify the copy of the identification page in your passport.