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A New Zealand-born teenager, who never set foot outside the country, is now facing deportation to India after losing his bid for New Zealand residency. Born to Indian parents in Auckland in 2007, Navjot Singh, 18, is considered an overstayer under current immigration laws as his parents overstayed their work visas. Under a 2006 law that ended birthright citizenship, children born in New Zealand to parents without lawful immigration status are not recognized as citizens. As per media reports, Singh’s father was deported when he was just five days old, and his mother lost her legal immigration status in 2012, when Singh was five. Having never left the country and never attended school due to his undocumented status, Singh’s situation has drawn public concern. His request for residency through ministerial intervention was denied last week by Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported. With no other legal pathway available, the teenager is now facing deportation to a country (India) he has never visited. Singh said he got to know about his situation when he was eight years old as he learned that he would never get access to education, healthcare, and basic rights in New Zealand, the report added. “I asked my mum why I wasn’t at school, and then she had to tell me,” he said, adding, “Ever since, I’ve been living in fear. I couldn’t even be honest with my friends.” Singh said he is terrified of moving to India, where he has no support network and does not speak Hindi. “I don’t think I’ll survive in India,” he said, adding, “I don’t speak Hindi. I’ve heard that people with higher qualifications can’t find jobs there, so what would I do?” His immigration lawyer, Alastair McClymont, called the government’s decision to deport him “inhumane” and said it fails to recognise the realities faced by young people like Singh. “It makes no sense to deport children who have grown up here to a foreign country,” McClymont told RNZ. He urged the government to reform immigration laws in line with countries like Australia and the United Kingdom, where children who have lived in the country for a decade can be granted citizenship.
