Wellington, Sep 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) New Zealand’s Immigration and Protection Tribunal has dismissed all 40 published asylum cases associated with support for Khalistan that it heard in 2025 and 2026, marking a departure from 2024, when two applicants were granted refugee status on similar grounds, a report has stated.
A review of published tribunal rulings found that 15 such claims were decided in 2025 and a further 25 in 2026, with none of the applicants being granted refugee status.
Collectively, the rulings indicate that merely identifying with or supporting the Khalistan cause is not, in itself, sufficient to meet New Zealand’s legal threshold for refugee protection, according to a report in Khalsa Vox.
“The recent run of decisions assumes significance because the tribunal had accepted two Khalistan-related claims in 2024. In those cases, Indian nationals were granted refugee status after the tribunal concluded that the nature and visibility of their political activities could expose them to persecution upon return to India,” it mentioned.
According to the report, the tribunal’s more recent decisions have drawn a clear line between expressing public support for Khalistan and proving that such activities expose an individual to a genuine risk of persecution.
“A recurring issue in the rejected cases has been the relatively limited nature of the applicants’ political involvement. The tribunal has also questioned whether there was sufficient evidence to establish that Indian authorities knew about, or had taken an interest in, their activities abroad,” Khalsa Vox stated.
“One applicant, for instance, had participated in a non-binding Khalistan referendum in Auckland and joined a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in Wellington. The tribunal characterised the activities as ‘low level’ and found no evidence that they had brought the individual to the attention of authorities in India,” it added.
The report noted that applicants need to demonstrate circumstances specific to their individual case and provide evidence of a credible risk of persecution upon their return to India. The tribunal may consider factors including the nature and visibility of their political activities, organisational links, public exposure and any documented interest from Indian authorities.
Highlighting the absence of comprehensive official data, the report said the total number of asylum applications linked to Khalistan-related claims remains unclear.
“The published tribunal rulings therefore provide only a picture of cases that have reached the tribunal and been made publicly available, rather than a comprehensive count of all Khalistan-related asylum applications lodged in New Zealand,” it stated.
Source: IANS
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