New Zealand immigration officials are seeking 231 people on student visas after uncovering evidence of widespread fraud during a random check of visa applications at its Beijing office.

Steve Stuart of Immigration New Zealand said on Wednesday the fraud targeted student visas and consisted predominantly of fake qualifications and falsified bank statements.

"Our investigations are continuing but at this stage it appears that two agents in China have facilitated these fraudulent applications," Stuart said in a statement.

He said 279 applications contained some form of fraud, and 231 people who fraudulently obtained visas were in New Zealand, including 60 whose visas had expired.

The other 48 people had either already left New Zealand or not yet arrived and they would be prevented from doing so, Stuart said.

A total of 20 education providers - all in the Auckland area - had been identified as having enrolled people implicated in the fraud.

Acting Immigration Minister Kate Wilkinson and Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce welcomed the investigation by Immigration New Zealand.

"This fraud was uncovered in a regular audit by Immigration New Zealand. It's pleasing to see this kind of illegal activity detected and acted on quickly," Wilkinson said in a statement.

Joyce said the fraud, though significant, represented a very small percentage of the 25,000 applications received from Chinese students each year.

"We pride ourselves on the high quality of our international education, and this is a very important industry for New Zealand," Joyce said in the statement.

New Zealand universities charge much less than countries such as Canada, and that is a major attraction for applicants, said Zheng Chen, a consultant for an agency named JJL Overseas Education.

Xinhua-China Daily