Backpackers targeted by Border Force for overstaying, identity fraud

Five dodgy backpackers are sent home each week for fraud, including falsifying documents in a bid to stay in Australia.

Exclusive: Dodgy backpackers falsifying documents to stay in Australia are being caught out in a border force crackdown that has seen the number working holiday makers kicked out of the country more than triple in a year.

News Corp can reveal authorities are sending tourists home at a rate of five people per week for fraud.

’Be very much wary of scammers’ - Immigration law specialist Anne O’Donoghue. Picture: iStock

In a significant spike, 288 backpackers were kicked out for fraud in 2017-18, up from 73 the year before and from 185 in 2015-16.

At the same time, there was a five-fold increase in the number of hopeful tourists having their working holiday applications rejected for document or identity fraud, which jumped from 20 to 102 in a year.

It comes as the Australian Council of Trade Unions calls on the government to scrap the second year of the working holiday visa program, cap the number of visas granted and ban job ads that advertise only for backpackers.

‘Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa will be liable for detention and removal’ - Border Force.

A Home Affairs spokesman said a taskforce established in 2015 to target criminal syndicates exploiting foreign workers for profit, including backpackers, currently had 21 investigations under way.

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In one case exposed by News Corp in October, a Chinese crime syndicate was charging backpackers thousands of dollars to fake a paper trail that would seemingly show they had worked in a rural area.

Backpackers are being targeted. Picture: Thinkstock

Immigration law specialist Anne O’Donoghue told News Corp the number of backpackers resorting to fraud was likely much higher than the official figures but noted the majority would be compliant.

“Be very much wary of scammers. If you want a second working holiday visa, be compliant and work in a rural area for some time,” she warned, saying the Home Affairs department could detect fraud through links to other agencies and tax records.

A total of 210,456 working holiday maker were granted in 2017-18, including 32,828 second year visas.

The number of backpackers using fraud to extend their privileges is likely to be higher than official figures indicate.

The department spokesman said border force officials were able to uncover fraud when tourists applied for other visas or by information obtained through the department’s intelligence network.

“Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa will be liable for detention and removal from Australia, pending resolution of any ongoing matters. Non-citizens whose visas are cancelled may be subject to exclusion periods,” he said.

Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham warned Labor against taking up the ACTU’s call to scrap the visa, saying any changes would hit the tourism industry and have a “devastating impact on our farmers in every state”.

“Working holiday makers are critical in filling short-term workforce shortages but they also inject billions into Australia’s economy, particularly in regional areas,” he said.

Originally published as Backpackers targeted by Border Force for overstaying, identity fraud