Wellington, April 11 – A recent ruling by a New Zealand tribunal rejecting a Sikh man's asylum claim as "entirely fabricated" should be the norm rather than an exception, according to a report published on Saturday. In its March 27 order, the tribunal dismissed the harassment claims made by Ranbir Singh, who is from Jammu and Kashmir, citing a lack of credibility and ordered him to return to India.
The report warned that unless other countries – including Australia, Canada, and the US – take decisive action, the asylum system – intended to protect the persecuted – will continue to be misused as a back-door visa service by those seeking to settle in the West.
“A 27-year-old Sikh man from Ranbir Singh Pura in Jammu arrived in New Zealand in 2023 on a tourist visa. He claimed that he had been repeatedly forced to evacuate his family due to tensions on the India-Pakistan border, and that he had been assaulted by local BJP workers for refusing to join them. New Zealand's Immigration and Protection Tribunal saw through this. On March 27, it ruled that Jammu was ‘reasonably safe’ for civilians, noted that civilian casualties in the region had plummeted from over 800 in 2002 to the low dozens annually, and dismissed the political persecution story outright as ‘entirely fabricated’ – especially since the man had never mentioned it in earlier hearings. The tribunal dryly observed that his situation was ‘far removed from genuine war-zone cases, such as those from Ukraine. He was told to go home,” according to a report in 'Khalsa Vox'.
The report highlighted that this is not an isolated case but part of a broader “cynical, industrial-scale strategy” that has emerged in parts of Punjab and is straining the asylum systems of Australia, Canada, the United States, and other Western democracies.
“Visa and immigration consultants – operating openly in India – coach clients on how to manufacture ‘evidence’ of oppression. The playbook is well-documented and depressingly repetitive: attend a pro-Khalistan rally abroad, pose with banners and Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) referendum cards, take selfies, post them online, and then claim that they will be persecuted back in India for ‘supporting Khalistan’. When one story – border tension, BJP harassment, or vague ‘political activity’ – fails, another is simply swapped in,” it mentioned.
“Canadian courts and the Immigration and Refugee Board have seen hundreds of these near-identical, templated claims in 2025 alone. At least 30 Federal Court reviews of Khalistan-linked asylum appeals were dismissed that year, with judges repeatedly flagging ‘disingenuous’ political conversions, ‘last-minute’ social-media posts, and ‘opportunistic’ narratives," it further stated.
The report stressed that the larger reality makes such fraud all the more troubling, noting that Sikhs in India are not a persecuted minority but a thriving, integral part of the national fabric.
“A Sikh has served as Prime Minister; Sikhs hold senior positions in the armed forces, business, and public life; and Punjab remains one of India’s more prosperous states. The Khalistan movement, which caused genuine bloodshed in the 1980s and 1990s, is today a fringe cause rejected by the vast majority of Sikhs living in India,” it noted.