Indian family loses NZ deportation appeal but gets eight-month reprieve to finish school year and plan return

Auckland (The NZ Today)

An Indian family of four has lost its humanitarian appeal against deportation from New Zealand, but the Immigration and Protection Tribunal has granted the parents work visas and their two children student visas for eight months so the family can complete schooling arrangements and prepare for its return to India.

The decision, issued on 16 September 2026, concerns a husband and wife and their two minor children, all Indian citizens. Their identities have been withheld in the published decision because the case refers to earlier refugee and protection claims.

According to the Tribunal judgment, the couple married in 2017. Their elder child was born in mid-2018 and the younger child in mid-2022. The background section of the decision records that the family arrived in New Zealand in early May 2023, with the parents lodging their first refugee and protection claims about a week later.

The parents went on to make two refugee and protection claims each, while the children had one claim each. All were declined by the Refugee Status Unit.

The parents’ first appeals were dismissed by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal on 19 December 2024. Their second claims also failed to proceed, with the Tribunal ruling on 3 July 2026 that it did not have jurisdiction to hear them. The children’s refugee and protection appeals were later dismissed on 14 August 2026.

In those earlier refugee proceedings, the family had claimed that the husband faced problems involving people associated with a former minister in the Indian state where they lived.

The judgment records that the former minister allegedly blamed the husband for leaking to the media what was described as a scandalous audio recording of a telephone conversation between the politician and a young woman. The family had also previously raised fears linked to their Muslim faith and the husband’s membership of a political party.

However, those allegations were not relied on again as the basis of the latest humanitarian appeal.

Instead, the family asked the Tribunal to consider the life they had established in New Zealand, their involvement in the local Muslim community and the effect that leaving the country would have on their children’s education and friendships.

The parents lodged submissions on 17 July 2026, while submissions for the children were filed on 28 August 2026.

They told the Tribunal that they had developed meaningful connections within New Zealand’s Muslim community, regularly attended prayers and participated in community activities. They also argued that deportation would disrupt the children’s schooling and the social networks they had formed.

As part of the appeal, the husband provided a letter dated 15 July 2026 stating that the family would comply with New Zealand immigration law and leave voluntarily, but needed additional time to sell belongings and make arrangements for their departure.

He asked that the family be allowed to remain until the children had completed their schooling for the year.

The Tribunal was also provided with photographs of the children at primary school and kindergarten, including certificates and messages from teachers. A letter dated 12 July 2026 from an Islamic Trust confirmed that the family regularly attended prayers and had been involved in activities at its Islamic centre.

The Tribunal noted that both parents were educated in India. The husband holds a Bachelor of Science, while his wife has a Bachelor of Commerce. Their parents and siblings remain in India, and the decision records that the husband had previously established himself successfully in business there.

The Tribunal accepted that the family had formed connections during their time in New Zealand and that leaving those relationships would be distressing.

It also considered the best interests of the two children.

The elder child, now aged eight, had completed most of his schooling to date in New Zealand. The younger child, now six, was attending kindergarten, and his asthma treatment was also raised as a consideration in planning the family’s departure.

The family argued that the elder child should be allowed to complete his school year and the younger child his preschool year before leaving New Zealand.

While the Tribunal accepted that photographs showed the children were well integrated into their school and community, it found they remained at an age where their parents were the central focus of their lives and would be able to adjust to a move to India.

The judgment also noted that the children would have access to extended family, including their grandparents, after returning.

After considering the circumstances together, the Tribunal found they did not reach the threshold of exceptional humanitarian circumstances required under the Immigration Act.

The Tribunal said the parents had spent most of their lives in India and their wider families continued to live there. It also found the children were not at an age where settling in India would create difficulties sufficient to meet the statutory test.

The family’s humanitarian appeals were therefore declined.

However, the Tribunal did not require them to leave immediately.

Using its discretion under section 216 of the Immigration Act, it ordered that the husband and wife each be granted eight-month work visas, while both children would receive eight-month student visas, beginning from the date of the 16 September decision.

The Tribunal said the additional time would allow the parents to continue working, save money for airfares, organise their personal and financial affairs and make arrangements to re-establish the family in India.

It also took the children’s education into account, noting that the new academic year in the Indian state (from which the family comes), begins in June 2027. The eight-month visas would therefore allow the children to move into the 2027–28 academic year in India with less disruption.

The Tribunal ultimately declined the appeal but gave the family the eight-month period to organise a managed departure from New Zealand.