Venkat Raman
An Immigration lawyer has called on the government to regulate offshore education agents and protect international students being exploited.
Auckland based Alastair McClymont of McClymont Associates (Barristers & Solicitors) said in a statement that the New Zealand immigration system does not include specific mechanisms to regulate offshore education agents.
He was reacting to a decision of Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier not to proceed with a complaint filed by his firm against Immigration New Zealand (INL) for deporting a large group of Indian students in 2017 and 2018. Indian Newslink had carried news relating to this issue in its print and web editions and social media.
Deported Indian students
INL had earlier said that the students were deported because they had provided false or misleading information while applying for student visas to study in New Zealand.
The students had contended that the information was provided by their education agents and that they were unaware of such information.
A McClymont Associates press release was published in its entirety on our website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn on June 27, 2018.
In his seven-page letter, Mr Boshier said that he was satisfied that INZ had followed the necessary investigations and procedures before deciding to deport the students.
But he criticised the Department’s policy and methodology in processing student visa applications and noted that the Government decided not to put in place any mechanism to regulate or to monitor the actions of these fraudulent agents.
Review of applications
As a consequence of the Ombudsman’s investigation INZ has offered to review the files of 213 student visa applications.
Associate Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi has agreed to personally reconsider seven applications in addition to the 213 INZ has offered to audit.
But Mr McClymont said that neither the Ombudsman’s decision nor the undertaking of the Minister went far enough to address the problem.
“More needs to be done. If there is no evidence that the applicants were active participants in the fraud, their original visa status should be reinstated. The National Government created this mess. I am now asking our current government to show compassion and act humanely.
“The Government has also held Indian student visa applicants solely responsible for the fraudulent documents that their Indian-based agents and advisors submitted to Immigration New Zealand on their behalf – even if the students had no knowledge of the contents of these documents,” he said.
Education providers responsible
Mr McClymont directed the responsibility of the dodgy Indian education agents to the education providers in New Zealand, who recruit, manage and pay the Indian agents to recruit the students. The students can choose from a selection of the schools’ agents, but they don’t pay the agents – the schools pay the agents.
He claimed that Indian students are being targeted for deportation in greater numbers than other nationalities.
“And this is despite Tongans, Samoans and Chinese overstaying in higher numbers. This can only be happening if there is a racial bias against Indian students and work visa applicants. Indian work visas are being declined at a rate 10% higher than Chinese applicants in the same position,” he said.
Unfortunate scapegoats
Mr McClymont said that the Government is using Indian students as a scapegoat similar to the way that US President Donald Trump is targeting Mexicans as ‘bad people.’
“INZ is targeting Indians for deportation because it claims they belong to a demographic group that has been identified as risk of exploitation.”
The INZ Compliance and Investigations Unit has been modelling data of overstayers to determine which groups most often incur hospital costs, overstay their visa or are involved in criminal activity. Its harm team has been using data such as past overstayers’ convictions and unpaid hospital debts to contribute to its data model, he said.
Please read our lead story and our Editorial, ‘Are Indian students naïve and vulnerable?’ under Viewlink on Page 12
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Photo Caption:
Alastair McClymont
