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An Indian was granted a work visa after the charge of assaulting his ex-partner was dropped. (File photo)
A man escaped deportation after authorities found that his “malicious” ex-girlfriend falsely claimed he had beaten her.
The man, a 26-year-old Indian citizen, has been in New Zealand since 2015 on a series of student and work visas. He was arrested in late 2019 after his then-partner called the police claiming that he had slapped her “with full force.”
He was accused of assaulting a person in a family relationship, but the complaint was later withdrawn. He was given a diversion, meaning no convictions were recorded, and he completed a non-violence program.
In June this year, Immigration New Zealand issued a deportation liability notice to the man, saying the police indictment showed that he was not of good character and was not eligible to stay in New Zealand.
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The man then appealed the notice to the Immigration and Protection Court.
The recently published court decision shows that the man, identified only as JU, alleged that his ex-partner was a “heavy drinker” who was “well known” to the police.
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The man’s ex-girlfriend has a criminal record for theft. (File photo)
She had prior convictions for shoplifting and had also been arrested for abusing a liquor store manager, the court heard.
“On the contrary, the appellant had a clear police record and had at all times complied with the conditions of his visa in New Zealand.”
The argument between the couple in which she claimed he slapped her arose after she discovered evidence of her infidelity. Before calling the police, she told him she would “destroy his life.”
JU denied hurting his partner and instead said that she had used “different forms of violence and psychological abuse” towards him.
She was involved with gangs and more than once had called a gang associate to say she wanted JU to be hurt, the court heard.
He also sold many of his possessions and registered a car, which JU was taking care of for a friend, in his own name. Since then, the friend had filed a police report.
Re-start
The Family Violence Amendment Act went into effect on December 3. He recognized strangulation, forced marriage and assault on a person in a family relationship as crimes. (First published December 2018)
JU produced a series of character references to support his appeal, printouts of “malicious” messages sent by his ex to his employer, and an article reporting on his previous crime.
He had been “trapped in a difficult and rebellious relationship and remained in it against his good judgment,” he told the court.
Deportation would bring shame to his family and he would rather commit suicide than be sent home in “disgrace.”
The court found that JU was “the victim of a malicious New Zealander who has deliberately sought to punish him for leaving the relationship.”
Deporting him for the actions of a “vindictive young woman” would be “unduly harsh,” he said.
The court canceled the deportation liability notice and ordered Immigration New Zealand to grant him a 12-month work visa, after which he can apply for residency.
“If you are unsuccessful, you can return to India as many of those applicants do, not as a deportee who became a victim of the malice of a citizen of this country,” he said.
