Asha Rani and her two-year-old daughter are among the Indians who are taking refuge in a Church in Auckland after the Immigration Minister rejected their appeals to revoke their deportation notices. They are hoping the police will not arrest them at a religious place.
Asha Rani from Punjab is among those facing deportation. She completed her Diploma in Business after two years’ study but won’t be allowed to apply for the post study work visa that most international students in New Zealand are entitled to.
She was in the classroom when the immigration officials served her a notice to explain a financial document submitted with her visa application, which had been found to be fraudulent.
Asha claims she had not forged any documents.
Her husband, Vikram Salaria is also a student in the New Zealand. He says the family has no choice.
Vikram Salaria and Asha Rani with their daughter Khwahish. Source: Radio NZ
“We feel cheated. We have spent so much money, and when we were about to begin looking for work, we are being sent back, for no fault of ours,” Vikram told SBS Punjabi.
He said the agent who filed his wife’s visa application had forged the evidence of their finances.
“We showed all the genuine sources of our funds. We had no reason to forge any documents,” said Vikram.
Many other Indian students have the same story to tell.
Mirza from Hyderabad quit his job of a financial analyst and applied for a student visa at the counsel of his education agent. Now, he is staring at an uncertain future after receiving a deportation notice.
He also says his agent used fraudulent documents without his knowledge.
“I had sufficient funds, but the agent insisted on doing the paperwork his way. Every time I went to his office, he had many successful visa applicants to boast of. I never suspected he would be doing anything wrong,” Mirza told SBS Punjabi.
Mirza claims to know at least 50 Indian students in New Zealand who are in similar trouble because of this agent, who he claims is still operating.
“He operates under different trading names, but the immigration and the education providers would certainly be aware of his activities,” he said.
Indian student Dilnawaz Mohammed and the deportation notice served on him. Source: Supplied
At least 9 Indian students have had their appeal to New Zealand’s immigration minister to cancel the deportation notices knocked back.
Facing a real threat of being deported, these students are now taking refuge in a church in Auckland. Though the law in New Zealand doesn’t stop the police from arresting a person from a religious place, but the unions backing the students are hoping it won’t happen.
The Migrants Workers Union’s Anu Kallti says they are hoping that the prime minister Bill English will show compassion.
“Immigration New Zealand needs to look at different parties involved in this whole mess. These students are actually the victims. The Anglican Bishop of Auckland has written to Prime Minister Bill English to seek clemency for them, and we are hoping he will listen.”
Joe Carolan of the Unite Union says these students are victims of the immigration machine.
“We are saying these students are migrant workers and they are exploited by the agents, by the education providers, and if you want to punish them, punish the agents, punish the education providers, punish the immigration officials and also punish the ministers who have been complicit in setting up those schools,” he said.
