Over a hundred Indian students have had to return to India and many more have the sword of deportation hanging over them after it was discovered that their visa applications were supported by fraudulent financial documents.
Immigration New Zealand served deportation notices to many Indian students nine of whom later took refuge in an Auckland church to evade arrest and eventually being deported.
These students say they were unaware that fraudulent documents were used in their visa applications. They told Immigration NZ that their agents in India misled them and perpetrated the scam.
Their plea, though acknowledged by various quarter, failed to cut much ice with the NZ authorities.
It has now emerged that the scam involved not just the agents in India but bank officials as well.
Quoting an investigation report of the Immigration New Zealand, reported that eight of the top ten consultancies in Hyderabad were involved in this scam.
An investigation by the Mumbai Area Office of Immigration New Zealand has uncovered the fraud which involved some bank officials as well.
The agents used a genuine education loan sanction letter to get in-principal approval and then would submit fraudulent education loan disbursal letters from the same banks, reported TNIE.
Then funds from another source would be transferred to New Zealand to pay tuition fees.
Many of the students affected because of the crackdown by NZ authorities are from Telangana and Andra Pradesh states in India.
Immigration New Zealand investigation began in Jan-Feb 2016 which is said to have been set off by an Indian student’s email blowing the lid off the scam.
Many Indian students were given until 22 February to return to India or face deportation.
After some Indian students took refuge in a church in Auckland, the authorities, , have reportedly told the students they could apply for a visa again from India.
