Indian-origin Punjabi pop superstar Karan Aujla has been forced to postpone the opening show of his Australian arena tour after his visa application was delayed by the Department of Home Affairs over an alleged mistaken identity.
Aujla, one of the biggest names in Punjabi music, was due to begin his five-date Australian run in Perth on Thursday. The Perth show has now been rescheduled to August 24.
Representatives for the Canadian-Indian singer told news.com.au that the Australian immigration authorities have sought further evidence after identifying him as a “person of interest”.
The identity cited by Home Affairs is reportedly Jaskaran Singh, a Canadian man arrested in Ontario in May 2024 over alleged extortion and firearm offences.
Aujla’s full name is Jaskaran Singh Aujla, raising concerns among his representatives that he may have been confused with the Ontario man. They also say the two men have different ages and that Aujla lives in British Columbia, on the opposite side of Canada from where the alleged offences occurred.
Aujla had previously received an Australian visa in September 2024, just four months after the arrest of the other Jaskaran Singh, and subsequently performed in Australia in October and November that year without reported visa issues.
The singer apologised to fans in Perth after the latest delay.
“Perth I’m very sorry to say we are rescheduling Thursday’s show due to delays with the approval of my Australian visa,” Aujla said on Instagram.
“I’ve never had visa issues in any country, including last time I toured Australia.”
He said he hoped the matter would be resolved quickly and asked fans to hold on to their tickets.
Aujla is scheduled to perform at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on August 16, followed by two shows at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on August 18 and 19. His Sydney show is scheduled for August 21, before the rescheduled Perth performance on August 24.
The singer has a massive international following, with more than 15 million Instagram followers and billions of streams across music platforms.
Born in Punjab and raised partly in Canada after moving there as a teenager, Aujla began his career writing songs for other Punjabi artists before launching his own recording career.
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