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Three of a group of Indians who went awol in New Zealand en route to World Youth Day say they genuinely believed they were coming here to work.
The men have been told by immigration officials they must comply with their visa conditions or they will be "forcibly removed" from the country.
Speaking to the Herald from the Papatoetoe home of Sikh Society spokesman Daljit Singh, the men said they were "victims of circumstance" and of a big-money immigration scam in their home state of Punjab.
The three Catholics paid around $17,000 each to agents in India for what they thought would be work permits when they landed in New Zealand.
They learnt they were supposed to be travelling to World Youth Day in Sydney only when they got on the plane. They said they were shocked to land in New Zealand and discover they only had temporary visitors permits.
Speaking through Sikh Society president Manprit Singh, the men said they immediately left Auckland Airport when they were processed through Customs.
They made their way to Tauranga, where they had heard there was a large Indian community and good prospects of finding work, and paid a taxi driver $550 to take them.
Manprit Singh said he had agreed to provide the men with shelter as long as they fronted up to Immigration New Zealand, and he encouraged the remaining 36 men to do the same.
Manprit Singh brought the three men to Auckland to meet officials yesterday. Daljit Singh was also at the meeting. He said the men were told they had to comply with their visas, which expires on August 5 or they will be "forcibly removed" from the country.
He said the men were advised by officials to return home and apply for jobs in New Zealand from home.
The men returned to Tauranga last night and said they would discuss with their families back in India and seek advice from other agencies about what to do next.
A further 12 of the group that went awol have made contact with the Society in the past day and Daljit Singh said he was trying to arrange for them to meet immigration officials.
All three men are married and two have children. They have jobs in Punjab as a carpenter, chemist shop assistant and electrician, and borrowed the money to pay the immigration agents in India, which they must somehow pay back.
They have told their families they are safe and well in New Zealand but have not yet told them of the actual situation with their visas.
Manprit Singh said rogue "immigration agents" scoured the streets of India looking for people to send to New Zealand and other countries with bogus visas.
"It doesn't just happen in India, it's everywhere in Asia and Europe where people want to come to a better country," he said. "These people have good homes and jobs but it is a trend among young people in India to want to travel."
The New Zealand Indian Central Association yesterday urged its members to help the authorities trace the remaining missing men, whom a Department of Labour spokesman said they were still trying to locate.
