‘Bad situation’: Missing festival ‘performers’ could be hiding in temples, consulate says
Friday, 20 March 2026
Two weeks after their visas expired, 11 members of a group that came here to perform in the Holi festival remain unaccounted for and unlawfully in New Zealand.
The Indian consulate in Auckland supported the trip.
It says the missing 11 may be hiding out in temples in Auckland or in Bay of Plenty.
Immigration officials still cannot find a group of Indian nationals who came here on temporary visas supposedly to perform with a pop star for the Holi festival, and the Indian consulate suspects they are being hidden by locals.
Two weeks after their limited visas expired, 11 members of a wider group who travelled to Auckland for an event involving pop star Shibani Kashyap at the Pukekohe Indian Association Centre remain unlawfully in the country, Immigration NZ (INZ) says.
Jock Gilray, INZ’s visa director, said the agency was “prioritising contact” with the 11 on a “case-by-case basis” and for privacy reasons he couldn’t go into further detail.
Another seven people who travelled to New Zealand with the same group have since returned to India.
Gilray previously said that the Indian consulate in Auckland was the point of contact for the group, and INZ had checked with it beforehand to ensure the event was genuine.
The consulate confirmed it was supporting the event, he said.
Kashyap says she travelled to New Zealand on her own as an invited artist and was not involved in any visa applications or immigration matters relating to the group.
A spokesperson for the consulate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the consulate had provided a letter of support for the group.
“It is a bad situation. I have been a diplomat for 20 years and this has never happened before.”
The spokesperson said consulate staff had been speaking to community leaders in an attempt to locate members of the group, urging them to “identify these people and send them back”.
The spokesperson said they had received information that some of the group had gone to temples in Auckland, while others were believed to have travelled to Tauranga or the Bay of Plenty area and were thought to be staying in “Kiwi Indians’ houses”.
The spokesperson said the consulate was working with INZ to locate the performers and would assist in any way to have them deported.
The same group had toured New Zealand last year and no immigration problems had arisen, the spokesperson said.
Gilray said earlier checks on those applying to come here as part of the performance group had been “robust” and involved collaboration with “risk and verification teams” in India.
He said concerns were identified with some of the visa applications – including fraudulent documents being supplied.
Four applications were declined and three were withdrawn.
Thirteen short term limited visas were approved for the specific purpose of attending the Holi festival event as it was determined “this would mitigate concerns”, Gilray said.
It’s understood the New Delhi-based CD Foundation was involved with the visa applications. It’s director, Charu Dass, has not replied to messages.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story referred to Sikh temples based on information from a consular source. That reference has been removed after the Sikh community advised it had made enquiries with Gurdwaras across New Zealand and found no knowledge of any such involvement, and the claim could not be independently verified. Amended on March 21, 2026 at 3.42pm.