Chandigarh: New Zealand’s refugee tribunal has turned down all 40 published asylum cases linked to Khalistan that were decided in 2025 and 2026, after granting refugee status in two such cases in 2024.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) said support for Khalistan or involvement in related political work, by itself and without proof of a real risk of persecution, is not enough to qualify someone as a refugee.
The tribunal made it clear that low-level activism does not meet the legal test for refugee protection.
According to a report by Kiwi-Indian news outlet Awaaz, the panel was of the view that “voting in a referendum, attending a protest, and following pro-Khalistan accounts online is ‘not enough’.”
It also said that even if police have earlier questioned or suspected a person of separatist views, that alone does not prove the legally required “real chance” of future persecution.
To succeed, applicants must show a long-standing, highly visible and credible profile that makes it realistic they could be targeted by the state, and prove that Indian authorities know about their activities. In 2025, the IPT rejected 15 such cases; in 2026, it has rejected 25 so far, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Why Some Earlier Cases Succeeded
The change comes after two 2024 rulings in which the tribunal accepted that public support for Khalistan could put certain Indian nationals at genuine risk if sent back.
In one of the 2024 rulings, the man had joined pro‑Khalistan Facebook groups in 2017, frequently shared posts on Facebook and Instagram, and followed prominent separatist figures.
In the other, the appellant had engaged with pro‑Khalistan material online for years and had a clearly visible pro‑Khalistan tattoo.
A well‑known 2020 case involved an appellant with more than 3,000 Facebook friends and pro‑Khalistan TikTok videos that attracted thousands of views, plus prominent tattoos connected to the movement.
Lawyers cited one or both 2024 decisions in at least nine later unsuccessful appeals, but the tribunal held those applicants had much lower‑profile activity and failed to prove that Indian authorities were aware of their involvement.
Data Limits And Claims Of Misuse
The 40 cases are published tribunal decisions, not the total number of Khalistan-linked asylum applications made in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand does not sort its public asylum data by the specific political or other grounds used by applicants.
An INZ spokesperson told Awaaz that relevant details may exist in individual files but are not kept in a way that allows easy statistical reporting.
Separately, intelligence sources have alleged that pro-Khalistan networks abroad have used promises of visas and jobs to recruit youth from Punjab.
They claim fake letters presenting applicants as party workers facing religious persecution were supplied to back asylum claims, with such documents allegedly being sold.
The sources also allege growing cooperation between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and pro-Khalistan networks in Western countries, involving funding, narcotics trafficking, propaganda and the use of asylum as a legal route.
