The Auckland church that has given refuge to Indian students facing deportation has appealed to the government to take a lenient view of the issue.
Minister Reverend Clay Nelson said the church supported the students in completing their courses and work experience. He said the government should allow the students to stay in New Zealand on compassionate grounds.
“Supporting justice and fair play is in the DNA of Unitarians. This situation requires a response from us. It is clear that these students are being subjected to a harsh penalty due to the actions of others and not their own. We implore the government to intercede on their behalf,” NZ Herald quoted him as saying.
Though he conceded that granting refuge to the students was symbolic and if immigration officers came for the students, there would be no resistance. But he said he hoped this would not happen.
A deportation notice sent to an Indian student. Source: Supplied
Nine international students from India have taken sanctuary in the Unitarian Church in Ponsonby after their appeals to the immigration minister to revoke deportation notices against them was rejected.
These students claim their education agent in India used fraudulent documents to support their visa applications without their consent or knowledge.
Several hundred Indian students have their fate hanging in balance in New Zealand after the fraud was discovered last year.
The nine students whose appeals for ministerial intervention have been rejected have been asked to make their own arrangements to leave the country.
Indian students during a demonstration in Auckland. Source: Supplied
A couple caught in this imbroglio along with their 2-year-old say they are staring at a bleak future after deportation.
Vikram’s wife Asha Rani has completed her two-year Business Management course from a college in Auckland. But she instead of applying for a one-year work visa, she is facing ouster from the country.
Himself a student in Auckland, Vikram says he and his wife supplied genuine evidence of available funds at the time of visa application. But their agent insisted on preparing the paperwork his own way.
“Now when we ask him he [the agent] says ‘it worked for many other students. I can’t do anything if immigration has started creating trouble,” he told SBS Punjabi.
He says they face a bleak future if the family has to return to India.
“We can’t think of anything… We paid thousands of dollars to study here. Now that my wife was about to start working, we are being forced out of the country,” Vikram Salaria told SBS Punjabi.
Immigration authorities may choose to act against them anytime.
