Nine Indian students are being sent home because they do not have enough money to study here. The problem seems to be that their agents in India used fake documents which showed the students had enough money. The students say they are planning to take sanctuary in a church where police cannot enter.
The agents told the students it was possible to earn enough money to live while studying. It is true that international students can work for 20 hours a week if they can find a job but it is not easy to find work. Even if they could find work and earned the minimum wage, it would be difficult to earn enough to pay rent and living expenses.
International students must have enough money to live on while they are studying in New Zealand. They need bank documents to show there is enough money in the bank. However, some agents have made fake documents. When New Zealand Immigration has discovered this, they deport the students.
It is never easy to know if someone is telling the truth. In most cases like this, the student blames the agent. If the agent is guilty, why are New Zealand Language and Business schools using these agents?
Vocabulary
• fake (adj) – not real, not genuine
• sanctuary (n) – a safe place (eg. a wild life sanctuary which protects endangered animals like a panda
• deport (v) – send them home
• blame (v) others – to say, ‘It’s not my fault’