New Zealand’s refugee system has taken a sharp turn on Khalistan-linked asylum claims, with all 40 published cases decided by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in 2025 and 2026 failing.
A review of published tribunal decisions identified 15 Khalistan-linked cases in 2025 and another 25 so far in 2026. None resulted in refugee recognition.
As per Awaaz, the reversal follows two successful cases in 2024, when the tribunal recognised Indian nationals as refugees after accepting that their public support for Khalistan could expose them to persecution if returned to India.
Those successful applicants had highly visible political profiles, including sustained pro-Khalistan social media activity, involvement with separatist groups and, in one case, a prominent Khalistan-related tattoo.
Since then, lawyers have cited one or both 2024 decisions in at least nine unsuccessful cases.
The tribunal has repeatedly found that later applicants had significantly lower-profile political activity and provided insufficient evidence that Indian authorities were aware of their involvement.
In one case, an applicant had voted in a non-binding Khalistan referendum in Auckland and attended a protest outside the Indian High Commission in Wellington. The tribunal found those activities were “low level” and there was no evidence they had attracted the attention of Indian authorities.
The decisions indicate that support for Khalistan alone is not enough to establish a refugee claim. Applicants must demonstrate a credible and individualised risk of persecution if returned to India.
The tribunal has considered factors including the claimant’s political profile, online visibility, previous interactions with authorities and evidence that Indian authorities are aware, or are likely to become aware, of their activities.
Immigration New Zealand does not publish asylum statistics by the specific grounds relied upon by applicants.
An INZ spokesperson said relevant information would require extensive manual review because it is not held in a readily retrievable format.
The 40 cases therefore represent published tribunal decisions rather than the total number of Khalistan-related asylum applications lodged in New Zealand.
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