Of the five women caught working illegally in the sex industry, three have already been sent home and the other two are being dealt with by Immigration NZ and the police. (File photo)

Five migrants on temporary visas have been caught unlawfully working in the sex industry in Nelson and Marlborough.

Three of the workers have been sent home, and the other two are being dealt with by Immigration and the police.

Under the Prostitution Reform Act, foreign nationals on temporary visas (visitor, student, or work visas) are unable to work in the sex industry. They may not provide commercial sexual services, operate or invest in a New Zealand prostitution business while in New Zealand.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) national manager compliance Dave Campbell said since September, five individuals from China, Brazil and Hong Kong had been found working unlawfully as sex workers in Nelson and Blenheim.

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Campbell said migrants who breached their visa conditions by working in the sex industry were vulnerable to exploitation by "unscrupulous employers and clients"

"They are less likely to be aware of their rights and entitlements than their New Zealand colleagues and are unlikely to come forward and complain."

Campbell said not having a passport could be a sign of exploitation as employers could hold passports to manipulate migrants they were exploiting.

In one case, it was thought a Chinese woman had her passport stolen along with some other belongings during her time in New Zealand.

That woman appeared in the Nelson District Court in October.

The court heard how the woman was at a Nelson motel with a colleague when an Immigration New Zealand officer visited the premises.

Supplied/rf123.com The Chinese woman had come to the attention of Immigration New Zealand during their investigation into the commercial sex worker industry. (File photo)

The two women tried to flee out a back door of the motel unit. One woman had a passport and was deported. The other woman did not have a passport.

In court, prosecutor Jeremy Cameron asked for a 28-day warrant of commitment that would enable the woman to be held in custody until her passport had been issued.

The woman had travelled to New Zealand lawfully between March and June last year before returning to China. She returned on a visitor visa last October that was valid until January 31, but had been unlawfully in the country since then.

He said the woman had come to INZ's attention during investigation into the commercial sex worker industry.

"I think the key word here is commercial, this isn't a one off sole-operator situation - it is a little bit bigger than that."

During an investigation last year, INZ visited 57 small owner-operated brothels across the country. No brothels were visited in the top of the south.

As part of that investigation, 66 migrant sex workers were identified. Of those, 36 were on visitor visas, two on student visas and the remainder on resident visas.

All sex workers but one were Chinese nationals. Immigration NZ found no evidence they were being exploited.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said in a statement the Government was concerned about preventing all forms of migrant exploitation. In the case of the sex industry, it was concerned about people trafficking as internationally this was an area of higher risk.

MARK TAYLOR/STUFF Our own Ministry of Justice found no evidence of "systemic" sexual exploitation. However, the US State Department found New Zealand was a "hot spot".

Migrants who are not permanent residents were not permitted to work in the industry under the Prostitution Reform Act.

"This was intended to remove any incentives for vulnerable or potentially vulnerable people to enter New Zealand for the purpose of providing commercial sexual services."

In the year ending November 1, immigration figures estimated there were 207 actual or suspected sex workers refused entry in New Zealand. Of those, 111 were from China and eight were Hong Kong passport holders, 56 were from Brazil and 24 were from Taiwan.

A Ministry of Justice report to the United Nations earlier this year found no evidence of "systemic" sexual exploitation in NZ.

But the US State Department's 2019 Trafficking in Persons report, published in June, described New Zealand as a hot spot for sexual exploitation.

The UN defines human trafficking as when people are exploited by others through the use of threats, coercion, abduction or other abuses of power. It does not always involve transporting victims to other countries or cities.

The US report said Kiwi boys and girls - often from minority communities - were regularly sexually exploited.

Migrant women from Asia and South America and some international students were also identified as being vulnerable to forced prostitution.