JAKARTA - New Zealand has banned a Domino’s franchise operator from employing more migrant workers for 12 months after a visa-condition breach, Immigration New Zealand said in a media release published on May 18. The case involved GBN Trading LTD, which trades as Domino’s Pukekohe and Domino’s Pokeno.
The company must also pay NZD $4,500, made up of a NZD $3,000 fine and NZD $1,500 in prosecution costs. Immigration New Zealand said the penalty followed the company’s court challenge against an infringement notice for employing a worker in a way that breached their work visa conditions.
According to the agency, the employee’s visa conditions allowed them to do administration work in Auckland at Domino’s Pukekohe, but they were found working at Domino’s Pōkeno in Waikato.
“The employer knowingly employed someone in a way that did not meet the conditions specified on their work visa and now they must face the consequences,” Jason Perry, Immigration New Zealand’s National Manager Investigations, said in the release.
New Zealand work visas can be tied to specific job, employer and location conditions. Immigration New Zealand says workers on an Accredited Employer Work Visa may work only in the job, for the employer and in the location stated on their visa, and must apply for a job change or variation of conditions if those details change.
The ban does not apply to every Domino’s outlet in New Zealand, but rather applies exclusively to GBN Trading LTD, trading as the Pukekohe and Pokeno stores. According to New Zealand’s national company register site, the company is owned by two shareholders: Navjot Singh Sran and Gurjinder Singh Ghuman.
The penalty also comes as New Zealand continues using a tougher employer-compliance system. Immigration New Zealand’s Immigration Employment Infringement Scheme allows fines, loss of employer accreditation or Recognised Seasonal Employer status, and stand-down periods that stop employers from supporting further migrant worker visas.
In the scheme’s first two years, from April 1, 2024 to April 30 this year, authorities issued 314 infringement notices and more than NZD $1 million in penalties.
New Zealand recorded a provisional net migration gain of 24,200 people in the year to March 2026, including a net gain of 60,800 non-New Zealand citizens, according to Stats NZ.