Indian international students facing deportation from New Zealand are organising a protest demonstration in a bid to highlight their plight, Voxy.co.nz reported.
The students, having paid tens of thousands of dollars to undertake their courses in the country, will not get any refund of their fees if they are deported.
New Zealand has already deported 147 Indian students this year due to fraud in their student visa applications. A group of nine students was recently served deportation notices for use of fraud financial documents to get into the country.
The students claim they were unaware of any fraudulent means being adopted during the visa applications. They say, it’s the agents working for the education providers who committed the fraud who “continue to operate despite their names being given to the immigration department”.
"We are here for studying and international exposure, not for cheating someone. We are honest, hardworking and law-abiding migrants in the country. Please don’t deport us for something which we have not done," said Sunil Chinta, a student facing deportation said.
Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont told Radio New Zealand that it’s wrong to deport these students.
"The students offered this information to Immigration New Zealand about who these agents were, but they received no response whatsoever so it appears Immigration New Zealand has no interest in trying to pursue these people."
The students plan to protest on Saturday outside the offices of National Party MP Dr. Paramjeet Parmar in Auckland.
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