More than 150 Indian students are demanding justice after being told they would be deported later this month.
This follows claims that agents who processed the students’ papers to study legally in New Zealand had falsified documents without the knowledge of the students.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has issued deportation liability notices (DLN) to 41 Indian students in relation to a range of issues including incorrect information in their visa applications or for subsequent issues including crimes committed in New Zealand.
Responding to our query about how the students were able to obtain the visa in the first place, INZ said, “In the last financial year, INZ has processed 35,171 Indian student applications with 20,000 approved, but it should be stressed that the very nature of fraud is to try to avoid detection. Fraudsters are cunning in their tactics and increasingly sophisticated in their techniques. The new procedures put in place by INZ since the fraud was uncovered and the deportation liability notices served, shows just how seriously INZ take such offences.”
About 50 students and members of migrant associations took part in a protest last weekend against the government’s decision.
The protesters marched from Stoddard Rd Health Centre to National MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar’s offices in Mt Roskill. Parmar’s office was locked, and she did not show up at the gathering.
The protestors are disappointed that none of the National MPs has come forward to help or support the students.
Indian Weekender spoke to eight students and protest organisers Anu Kaloti from Indian Migrant Workers Association and Sunny Singh, a former student, to know more about their side of the story.
Singh said they approached the community organisations, gurudwaras and temples to come forward and stand with the students but no one came forward.
“The common perception even in our community is that ‘Oh! He is an Indian. He must have done something wrong’. But they need to understand that these students are the victims here,” Singh said.
The students received the deportation notice in May this year. However, they did not tell anything to anybody because they “didn’t know who to approach and share this with”.
Kaloti said that when Indian Migrant Workers Association found out about the issue, they approached these students as nobody else was supporting them.
“We can only help those who want to be helped,” she said.
Most of the students, who are about to be deported, have spent their parents’ life earnings towards their study in New Zealand.
The students, who hail from the Hyderabad state in India, claimed that they had been cheated by immigration agents in India. When asked about why they did not do their own research while applying for a visa, the students said that they thought the agents were far more experienced than them in such matters.
“When you visit their office and see their achievements on the notice board, how many people have had their applications successful through them, you tend to believe that this man surely knows his job,” said Hafiz Sayed, one of the students who might face deportation.
Holding students responsible for the fraud documents, INZ told Indian Weekender, “…all students, as part of their application, must personally make a declaration that states that the information provided in their application is both true and correct, regardless of using an Immigration Adviser or student agent. As with all visa applications, the responsibility is on the applicant to ensure they provide genuine and accurate information as part of their visa application to INZ.”
Sunil Chinta, a student at AWI International Education Group, said when he was signing the document, the amount mentioned in the loan disbursal letter was Rs 15 (NZ$30), whereas when he received the document from INZ saying that it was a fake one, he was surprised to see the amount altered to Rs 1,500,000 (approx NZ$31,000).
He added that he doesn’t even have an account in the bank mentioned in the document.
“I don’t have an account in the bank but I have taken a loan from them! How is that possible?” said Chinta.
Ram, a student from New Zealand Institute of Studies (NZIoS) and Shujath from NZSE pointed out that it is not possible for the students to produce a fake financial document such as loan disbursement letter even in India.
“Where would we get the stamp from? Even if we get it, how can we get the signatures of the bank manager on the paper? It isn’t possible for us to do that!” said Ram.
Blaming the agents back home and INZ, the students expressed their dissatisfaction over the way New Zealand authorities have handled the situation.
“They (immigration officers) never established a direct contact with us, neither did the colleges. Why is it that after almost a year, they realised that the document was fake? We realise now that the agents only cared about their commission and colleges also cared only about the fees,” said Dilnawaz, another student.
Pointing out the irresponsible attitude of the colleges, Kaloti said, “They (colleges) have backed off completely. As per the law, they must abide by the duty of care, but they just left the students to deal with this situation on their own saying that ‘it’s your problem, we have nothing do with it’.”
The students are in a state of trauma as they feel that, if deported, they will be labelled as criminals by the society, back home.
“We are the victims, not offenders. We have come here to study, not to commit some sort of crime.”
Many students have already returned to India, as they “did not want to be defamed” and “get into any more trouble.”
While some of the students were ready to go back to India if their fees were returned, others were adamant on staying in New Zealand saying that they have “spent a whole year and a lot of money. If we go back, everyone will look at us as some sort of criminals. We won’t be able to make a good future for [ourselves] even in India.”
“Can they (government) return an entire year of my life? If they can, I will go back,” said a devastated Ram.
Sayed says that even if the government agrees to return the fee, it still won’t make things better for him as he is done with the studies. “Now when I want the job search visa, they have pointed out that a document in my application was fake. I came here so that I could study and explore job opportunities. But now I will be sent back with the deportation stamp that would make it very difficult for me if I want to go to any other country in the future.”
Indian Weekender contacted the Indian High Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli and Kiwi-Indian MPs Kanwaljit Bakshi, Dr Parmjeet Parmar, and Mahesh Bindra to ask what they were doing to help the students.
Kohli said that although the students had not yet approached the high commissions, “we have, on our own, taken up both matters concerning students at IANZ as well as those facing possible deportation with the concerned authorities. Our effort is to safeguard the interests of our students to the extent possible.
“I believe the tendency to attribute blame to one party or another is not the solution.
“I do believe that there have been certain acts of omission and commission on the part of each stakeholder-students, institutions, agents, immigration, and education agencies. Under such circumstances, it is more of a case of systematic deficiencies where the necessary scrutiny and oversight procedures were not sufficient to manage the numbers involved.
“It is now important for both sides to find appropriate solutions through collective application of mind rather than take knee-jerk reactions.
“It does not sound fair if the consequences of the failure of the system are transferred to just one constituency, which also happens to be the most vulnerable and stands to lose the most.”
Kohli said that situations such as these could have a strong impact on the India-New Zealand relationship.
“In the long-term interests of this aspect of our engagement, solutions need to be found in an atmosphere of goodwill. I am afraid deportations do not create the right atmospherics.”
He assured that he was making efforts to ensure that the Indian students’ rights were not exploited and they were treated fairly.
“My submission has been to allow these students to complete their education and to let them stay as per terms of visas granted to them. The lessons learnt from the investigations are helpful in setting in place necessary safeguards but seem harsh and unfair if applied with retrospective effect. I am confident that our relationship has the maturity to deal with such challenges.”
Although National MPs Bakshi and Parmar did not mention anything about what they were doing to make sure the students get justice, if they were not involved in the fraud, they assured that the government is taking necessary steps to make sure that the cases are being investigated.
“There have been a number of cases where fraudulent documentation have been submitted. It is unfortunate that all of the main English language education countries have experienced some fraud issues in India, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. Although, this government takes a zero tolerance approach to fraud and if that sort of behaviour has taken place then action will need to be taken,” Bakshi said.
Dr Parmar said that while these cases are being worked through, “the government makes no apologies for holding people to account if they have obtained their student visa fraudulently”.
“Immigration New Zealand has worked hard to prevent this (fraudulent visa applications)—this year 38 per cent of applications were turned down and more resources have been increased in their Mumbai office to ensure the integrity of applications,” she says.
Denise Roche, Green Party MP, Spokesperson for immigration
“Indian students facing deportation from New Zealand are victims of fraud, and the government should allow them to stay. Punishing students whose families have invested tens of thousands of dollars in their education is completely unfair.
“These students have fallen prey to scammers taking advantage of New Zealand’s poor visa oversight systems. It’s not their fault that Immigration New Zealand’s systems did not do due diligence on visa applications by third parties.
“The government needs to step up and take responsibility for its mistakes by improving oversight of the system and offering better protection for students who are scammed by overseas agents.
“Steven Joyce wants to increase international education in this country by another $2 billion dollars, but his government is failing in its duty of care to students who are already here.
“If the government is truly interested in students’ learning and not just in their tuition fees, they need to cancel this deportation order and allow these students to complete their education.”
Phil Goff, MP for Mt Roskill
Labour Spokesperson for Ethnic communities
“I have written to the minister of immigration on behalf of the 41 students, and have suggested that he should consider a more sympathetic response, provided there is no suggestion of fraud or dishonesty on the part of the students.
“I understand from their (students’) lawyer that they could not reasonably have known that the documents had been falsified.
“On the general issue, I think for the agents that were involved for institutions such as the IANZ and students who deliberately engaged in fraudulent activity, there should be strong sanctions.
“The students have paid good money to get qualifications and places, and if the integrity of the education system is undermined, then you damage everybody. So the government’s responsibility is to uphold the integrity of the education system and those that are working within it, including the agents.
“It would be pretty tough if they (students) were to become the victims of the injustice—lose their money, lose their opportunity, go home in shame and have their dreams shattered. I think the government needs to act fairly, and it also has to be seen to act fairly because otherwise the $3 billion international education industry of New Zealand could be damaged; the reputation of that system could be damaged.
Sunny Kaushal, Indian community leader
“These students are not asking for a residency or asylum in New Zealand. What they are asking is to let them complete their studies in New Zealand. They are contributing to the New Zealand economy... They are here to study; they are not criminals.
“The Indian community in New Zealand was expecting a better response and resolve from Minister Steven Joyce on this issue to stop the exploitation of international students, but asking them to leave the country in the middle of their studies without refunding their fees is not fair.
“We New Zealanders are known globally to champion Human Rights and fairness.
“We would like to see these students be given [a fair treatment]. If the government can soften rules to allow hundreds of Chinese students in July 2012 facing deportation on similar fraud in China and then [more than] a thousand duped Filipino workers caught in an immigration scam be given amnesty to live in NZ, there is no reason why these students can't be allowed to complete their studies against the fees they paid in full.
“The government must introduce a strong code of conduct for all stakeholders and take action against the nexus of fraudulent immigration agents and involved education providers.”