Indian students facing deportation in New Zealand are fighting their last fight for justice. The deportation appeal made by nine students stuck in the false document scam was declined last week after Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse decided not to intervene in the matter.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) Assistant General Manager Peter Devoy has said that two out of the nine students have already left the country voluntarily, while the remaining seven are still in a sanctuary at Auckland Unitarian Church in Grey Lynn. While one of the members of Migrant Workers Association NZ (MWANZ) Sunny Seghal said that none of the students have left, all the nine students were still at the church (confirmed on Thursday, February 8 at 6 p.m.).
The students, which include a woman with her two-year-old daughter, are hoping that Prime Minister Bill English cancels their deportation notice, thus not ruining their even if they have to go back home, saving their future from being tainted.
Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont who was representing around 20 students had requested Mr Woodhouse to cancel the deportation orders more than six months ago. The request was submitted after it was found that education agents based in India had submitted false documents on behalf of the students.
Mr McClymont said he received an e-mail on February 2, stating the minister would not intervene and that the student's applications were declined.
The Indian community in New Zealand has so far had mixed reactions on the issue of deportation and the visa scam. While some have shown support and compassion to the students, others have concluded that it is not possible that the students were not aware of the fraud. And while the Christian community has come forward to help, the students are disheartened by the lack of support from the Indian community who seem to follow the stereotype that if an Indian is being blamed, he/she must have done wrong.
Indian Weekender spoke to four students and in our conversation, we found out that the students were accused of committing two types of fraud.
In one case, the documents to show financial support for the student visa application was false. The supporter/sponsor was supporting more than one application at the same time. Moreover, the students do not know the supporter.
Asha Rani, who hails from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, has been issued the Deportation Liability Notice (DLN) on the basis of this fraud, however, she says that she had no idea about any such document, as her agent submitted her application and all the documents to the immigration.
In another case, the loan disbursement letter submitted with the student visa application was fake. Immigration verified with the respective banks about the loans and found out that those loans were never issued.
A fake loan document supplied by Sunil Chinta that he says he found out only after immigration informed him. The document does not have any signature of Mr Chinta.
Students from the state of Andra Pradesh in India, who have been caught in this scam, have been issued a DLN on the grounds of this fraud.
In their conversation with Indian Weekender, these students revealed more.
Asha came to New Zealand on August 15, 2015, to study a one-year business diploma from ICNZ college. She was in her classroom on May 20, 2016, when two immigration officer came to hand her the Deportation Liability Notice.
“I [was] surprised. We came here after following all the legal and genuine procedures. We had no idea about what [the] agent has done. We were told [by immigration] that the person who has shown funds for us had also shown the same funds for someone else as well,” Mrs Rani said.
She says that her husband’s family was financially secure to support her education and living expenses in New Zealand and did not need financial assistance from anyone else.
“I had presented by husband’s and my father-in-law’s funds as required by the immigration. But the documents my agent had sent to the immigration showed that I had got support from a lady, and she was supporting two visa applications at the same time.
“I had no idea that the agent has done any such thing. I only got to know about this when Immigration New Zealand told me after issuing a DLN. And I don’t even know who that lady is.”
Mrs Rani processed her student visa application through Rovil Garg of Fine Step Study Consultants in Kurukshetra, Haryana. She said that she trusted him when he showed them his past work and assured that he has a 100% success rate for student visas. He also told her that he does not work with people who want to use wrong ways to get their visas.
“We had heard that he is a popular agent and has been working for so long in this industry. He wouldn’t do anything wrong. And we had told him clearly that we will pay you whatever your fee is, but don’t do anything that is illegal.”
Mrs Rani said that she contacted Mr Garg after she got the DLN and he told her that he could help her go to Australia and also that she can stay in New Zealand for three months and appeal against the notice. But after the initial conversation, he stopped answering her calls.
When Mrs Rani came to New Zealand, her daughter, Khwahish, was only two months old.Her husband Vikram Salaria joined her with their daughter after seven months. Now she is afraid that the deportation will not only have a bad effect on her and her husband’s future but also for her daughter.
She feels that immigration is trying to put the blame on students while ignoring the mistakes and ignorance shown on their part.
“What did immigration check in the 27 days they had before issuing me a visa? They had enough time to check whether there is any false information in my application. But they issued me a visa. Then, later on, they gave a visa to my husband and my baby. They could have checked it even then.
“I got this deportation notice in May. After nine months, they [immigration] suddenly found out that there was a false information in my application. What did they do in the time they had to verify the information provided in my application?”
Mrs Rani says that the time she spent in New Zealand has been the worst experience of her life. She paid $20,000 towards her college fee alone. For justice, she wants that the deportation notice revoked.
“If going back is the only way, we want the deportation notice to be cancelled. We are facing this situation for no fault of our own. Still, we are ready to go back but not with the deportation label that will ruin our future.
“I spent a lot of money—for my studies, my living expense, tickets, my husband’s visa, my daughter’s visa, their tickets, but what did I get in return? I didn’t even get some respect. We are now being sent back with a label that we are frauds?”
She said that she hasn’t been able to tell her situation to her parents, as her mother is suffering from a heart disease and has recently undergone a surgery. She said that their situation would make it difficult even for her family back home.
Manoj hails from Hyderabad, Andra Pradesh. He is being deported for submitting a false loan letter, which he did not know about and was never made aware of. It was only after he received the DLN that he found out that a loan letter was submitted with his application.
Mohammad Salman (left) and Manoj N. share their issues with Indian Weekender
“Immigration did not contact me when I applied for the student visa. They never established a direct contact with me. They had three months after I submitted my application to check all the facts, document, and information. But they did not find it then but only after seven months of me coming to this country,” Mr Manoj said.
He added that apart from his and his father’s name, all information in the loan letter was incorrect.
“It has a property address that I don’t even know of. They (the agent) just copy pasted our names on a sample letter and submitted the document to immigration. And it is the same company that is operating with different names in the entire state. All the students who came from Andra Pradesh are the victims of this scam,” he said.
Mr Salman’s case is also the same. He studied Business Management Level 7 at NZIS and paid $17,000 towards the course fees. He has now completed his study and wants that what immigration had committed to them when they applied for the visa: one year of job search visa.
“They should fulfil their promises. It is our right. We have paid for this,” Salman said.
Sunil Chinta’s situation is no different. He argued that if they would have taken the loan or produced the false loan letter, they would have paid their college fee from the loan account.
“I never had an account in Andhra Bank, and I paid my fee from my account. I have proof for that. Why would I do that? If I were planning a fraud, I would have paid it from the loan account and not from the personal account,” Mr Chinta said.
INZ has confirmed that six of the seven students still in New Zealand have been awarded the qualifications they came for.
The students want justice from INZ and the government and are requesting them to revoke the deportation notice. They want the immigration to allow them to gain work experience by issuing them the post-study work visa.
But if going back is the only solution, they want to leave with dignity and not get deported, which would prohibit them from coming back to New Zealand for the next five years.
“I won’t lie sitting here in the [church]. Settling here permanently was never our goal. We just wanted to study and work her for a few years and go back to our country. But this situation has left us in an appalling condition. New Zealand has been the worst experience for us,” Mrs Rani said.
The students said that had the INZ been able to perform their job well and identify the fraud before issuing them a visa, they would not be in this situation.
“We were unaware of the fraud but if the immigration could have found it before issuing us visa, we wouldn’t have to prove our innocence now. The ignorance and mistake was done on their part in the first place and we are ones bearing the brunt of it now,” said Mr Chinta.
INZ’s Assistant General Manager Mr Devoy told Indian Weekender that 191 Indian students had been served deportation orders since May 2016 for a range of reasons, including the provision of fraudulent or misleading information. Of the 191 students, 125 have left New Zealand (either voluntarily or via deportation).
“There are opportunities for people who are liable for deportation to appeal and to leave voluntarily and without penalty,” Mr Devoy said.
“Those who do not leave voluntarily and before the expiry of their visa are prohibited from applying to enter New Zealand for five years without special permission.
“People who are deported must also repay deportation and flight costs before they will be allowed to apply to enter New Zealand again without special permission. Overstaying and deportation information is recorded electronically.”
While there is no law in New Zealand to stop police from entering the church, they will have to use force at a religious place to carry out the deportation of the students.
Meanwhile, the Migrant Workers Association NZ (MWANZ) is appealing community members to donate pre-prepared meals for the students who have been staying at the church.
Nine Indian students have taken refuge at Auckland Unitarian Church
“As a last attempt for mercy from the Immigration Minister and the Prime Minister, 10 international Indian students including one mother with a two-year-old child have taken refuge at Auckland Unitarian Church since Monday, February 6.
“We request you all to visit the students to provide moral support. Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1a Ponsonby Road, Grey Lynn.
“The Church has been kind and generous to provide shelter for the students. However, the students need pre-prepared meals daily. The supporting organisations have called for community help with gifts of prepared meals.
“If you are able to help the students please contact team members of Migrant Workers Association—Anu Kaloti 0212065640 or Sunny Sehgal 02102945924,” a community appeal from MWANZ said.
The students have been furious that none of the Indian MPs have come forward, if not to help them but at least listen to their grievances. We asked National MP Kanwaljit Bakshi why he never tried to meet or speak to the students. He told Indian Weekender that he had offered assistance to the students but they never came to him.
“When these students were protesting at the Auckland Diwali Festival at Aotea Square last year, I approached one of the leaders of the protest and told him that I was happy to meet with them.
I invited them to come to my office in Papatoetoe so we could meet and discuss their situation but they never took me up on that offer, and I have not heard from them since.”
He said that he would be happy to talk to the students and they can visit him in his office on any Friday.
When we spoke to Sunny Sehgal, one of the organisers of the protest, he said that Mr Bakshi had spoken to him on that day.
“When I asked him why are you not supporting students, he told me come to his office to talk. We even wanted to go, but a couple of days later, we saw that he was in India with the (then) Prime Minister John Key. He had already left.”
Mr Sehgal said that they did not go to him later.
National MP Kanwaljit Bakshi (left) and Indian Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli
Indian Weekender also spoke to the Indian High Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli, who said that Indian government would assist Indian citizens in the times of crisis and help them get back to India while the case with these students is different.
“The Indian Government comes to the assistance of Indian citizens in times of crisis and helps them reach their homeland. In this case, the students are saying they don't want to return to India and wish to stay in a foreign land. Under these circumstances, the Indian High Commission's ability to help is limited,” he said.
Mr Kohli said that despite this, he is taking full interest in this issue and is in touch with INZ on a daily basis.
“The overall welfare of our students is a priority matter for us. We take up all issues concerning their welfare including deportations and closing down of some institutions with every concerned authority. And they have responded to us in a constructive spirit.
“As far as deportations are concerned, they [INZ] decided to apply the law and allow the students to use its full course including appeals. We now need to respect the law of this land. Indians have a rich reputation as law-abiding people, and we need to preserve that reputation.
“We, of course, would have been happier if the outcome had been in favour of the students.
There are lessons to be learnt from this by all stakeholders including the students, and we hope these lessons will lead to a better system for everyone,” Mr Kohli said.