New Delhi: A man in his 30s who claims to be an Indian citizen has been stranded at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia for two weeks after he was denied entry in Delhi for not being able to present a valid Indian passport.
The man, who has identified himself as Aakash and says he is from Punjab’s Jalandhar, was last month turned away from Delhi after Indian immigration authorities refused to accept the identity certificate—reportedly issued by New Zealand to asylum-seekers—as a valid travel document to enter India.
He was put on a Malaysia Airlines flight bound for Auckland but was stranded during a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, with neither India nor New Zealand willing to accept him, sources in the Indian security establishment told ThePrint.
According to them, it appears that Aakash had earlier fled India and sought asylum in New Zealand, citing threats to his life. Whether he was formally granted refugee status remains unclear.
“He wanted to enter India with an Identity Certificate issued by the New Zealand government. When asked to produce his Indian passport, he claimed he had lost it. No one can be allowed to enter India without a valid travel document,” a source said Saturday.
A New Zealand Certificate of Identity is a travel document is issued by the Department of Internal Affairs to non-citizens who cannot obtain a passport from their home country. According to the NZ immigration website, this document allows holders to leave and return to NZ. It primarily serves refugees, stateless persons, or residents unable to get a national passport.
“A certificate of identity may be issued to a person who is not a New Zealand citizen and who cannot obtain a passport from their country of citizenship,” the website says. The certificate is valid for two years and holding this certificate does not affect the nationality or citizenship status of the applicant, it says.
The source quoted above said that Aakash did not, at the time of his arrival in Delhi, disclose whether he had sought or been granted asylum in New Zealand. “He was then put on a Malaysia Airlines flight back to New Zealand,” the source said.
09/05/2026 Ananya Bhardwaj/Print