Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has deported 27 Asian sex workers from the country as part of a crackdown on illegal visas.
It is illegal for anyone on a temporary visa to work as a prostitute, and New Zealand sex workers have complained that the industry is awash with illegal sex workers who are advertising their services online.
Sex workers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Macau, Malaysia, India and Thailand were told to leave the country according to NZME.
A 30-year-old Chinese national on a student visa was among those who left the country. She was issued with a deportation liability notice after she was caught naked with a client at an Auckland brothel during a police raid, NZME reports.
Kiwi sex workers say migrant workers are making it difficult for them to find clients, and the number of migrant workers advertising their services online has exploded in recent years.
Christchurch sex worker Amber O'Hara told Newshub she was frustrated by a perceived lack of action from INZ.
"We can't understand why this is so difficult. These ladies are advertising sex services, showing photos of their faces and tattoos, saying they are from foreign countries and are here for a short time only. What more do immigration require?" she said.
But INZ assistant general manager Peter Devoy said anonymous complaints about people who were also likely using a fake name are "notoriously difficult to pursue".
"For example, if someone is using a fake name and we can't verify that person's visa status or whereabouts then it gives INZ very limited information to investigate the allegations further."
Between December 2014 and March 2018 there had been a total of 57 complaints to INZ about migrant sex workers.
Newshub.
