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New Zealand News: Licenses of 459 Indian truck drivers in New Zealand have been canceled due to fake documents. Due to this, their families are in financial crisis. The drivers say they used fake letters received from the UAE and are now demanding a solution.
New Zealand News: Worrying news has emerged for India. In New Zealand, licenses of 459 Indian origin truck drivers have been canceled in fake license cases. New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) took strict action after mistakes were found in changing the licenses of heavy vehicles across the country. Due to this, many families are stuck in financial crisis and they have started protesting.
These drivers say that they got trapped in the web of suspicious documents received from UAE. An NZTA audit found fraud in the process of converting foreign licenses to New Zealand licenses. Earlier 440 licenses were cancelled, now this number has increased to 459. All these cancellations have happened due to ‘false or altered documents’.
All foreign drivers from India
According to a report, it was revealed that all the canceled foreign drivers are from India. Of these, 436 cases involve documents issued from UAE, 18 from Australia and five from Canada. None of these cases are directly related to the use of an Indian license, as non-exempt countries like India require thorough testing under NZTA rules.
Earlier, thousands of Indian drivers in New Zealand bought fake ‘support letters’ online by paying Rs 27-54 thousand. By showing this letter he easily obtained the driving license and visa. The government used to accept them earlier, so everyone’s work went on. But now such fake letters have been considered completely illegal. Now the license and visa obtained through these letters are being cancelled. That means that old easy path is now closed forever.
Drivers demand solution
Most of these drivers are 30–35 years old and have passed theory and practical tests. Apart from this, MP Paramjit Parmar wrote a letter to Transport Minister Simon Brown saying that these are hardworking migrants who filled the shortage of drivers in New Zealand’s trucking sector. All the drivers demanded a solution so that their families could get help.
Indian truck drivers and their families gathered at Takanini Gurudwara in Auckland on 22 November and demanded justice. On this day Amritpal Singh said that NZTA has taken away our income and now how will we raise our children? Whereas Parminder Singh told that he is not even able to pay the rent of his house. Transport operators also gave their reaction on this issue.
Shortage of truck drivers for a long time
Navjot Sidhu and Ranjit Singh told that earlier the documents coming from Dubai were valid, due to which the recruitment of drivers was easy but now the difficulties have increased. There has been a shortage of truck drivers in New Zealand for a long time. There was a shortage of 3,449 drivers in 2022. The role of Indian immigrants has increased in this sector. The 2025 report suggests that Asian drivers, mostly Indians, will now account for 20% of the trucking industry.
