VIAJAYWADA: Several Indian students in New Zealand are packing their bags to come back home after Immigration New Zealand authorities served deportation notices on them. What may have triggered the crackdown could be an email sent by a disgruntled student in drunken stupor.
Sandeep (name changed) a native of Hyderabad had gone to New Zealand in 2015 for a Master's programme and is now back in India after clinching a job offer told Express the deportation episode started with an email that was posted to immigration officials by a student who was doing his Diploma in Business in New Zealand. “The person who sent the mail is my friend, a junior of mine. He did so in a fit of anger. He had spent a lot of money on the course and wanted to do a part-time job to afford his stay in the country. He was desperate and willing to do anything, including the job of a cleaner job, but no one offered him a job," he said.
The youth finally resigned to the fact that he would have to go back to India and made all arrangements for the journey. The day before he left, he got drunk and shot off an e-mail to immigration officials saying New Zealand was the worst country on the planet. "He wrote that the country does not support students or have job opportunities," Sandeep said. In the letter he spilt the beans on several students using fake documents to enter the country in hopes of landing a good job after their studies."He also used abusive language against the officials and the government in the mail. That was right before he left for India,” Sandeep confessed.
He further said that the immigration officials had taken offence and gone to various colleges enquiring about fake certificates.“The officials then caught students who had submitted fake financial certificates and issued deportation orders to them. The friend of mine who started the issue is happily doing his diploma in Business in a European country even as students in New Zealand suffer. Even if they manage to return to New Zealand, they won't be allowed a work permit,” he said.
Salil Mohammad (name changed), a native of Hyderabad, who was pursuing his Master's in New Zealand, is among the students who are getting ready to go back home for having provided false statements of bank balance. Salil is worried about his family as he believes their reputation will take a hit. “The battle is over and we have lost. I don't think we will have a good future even if we return to continue our studies. The officials have, so far, not given any clarity on the tuition fees we paid. I've paid more than `2.5 lakh in the first instalment. Others have paid over `8 lakh,” he said.
Alastair Mcclymont, the lawyer representing the group of Indian students said Immigration New Zealand would allow the students to reapply once they submit original documents.