During a recent three-day visit to the United Kingdom, several young men and women from Punjab and Haryana who want to return to India met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj at a special interaction facilitated by the United Sikhs organisation. Their message was direct: immigration agents in India had defrauded them of lakhs of rupees and sent them to the UK through improper and illegal means.
The result, they told the Jathedar, was that their parents’ hard-earned savings had been wasted and their futures put at risk. Without valid documents or visas, UK authorities are no longer permitting them to stay in the country legally.
What the youth told the Akal Takht Jathedar
The interaction took place at Southall, west London, an area with one of the largest Punjabi and Sikh populations in the UK, during Jathedar Gargaj’s visit to the country, which followed an invitation from Nehkaamee Sewa Trust UK.
The young men and women who met him described a pattern that has become a recurring feature of Punjab’s illegal migration economy: agents promising legitimate work or study pathways abroad, collecting large sums of money from families, and then routing individuals to destination countries through methods that leave them without the documentation needed to remain legally.
Bibi Narpinder Kaur of United Sikhs told the Jathedar that the organisation has established a dedicated weekly assistance counter at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall, on Park Avenue, specifically to help people navigate immigration and other pressing matters. She said the organisation regularly receives cases of individuals who voluntarily wish to return to India, and that such cases are handled in coordination with both the UK and Indian governments, with the individuals assisted in returning at government expense.
What is voluntary return and who qualifies for it?
What is a voluntary return scheme?
A voluntary return scheme allows a person without valid immigration status in a country to leave that country and return to their home country with government-facilitated assistance, rather than through a forced deportation process. In the UK, voluntary return can be arranged through the Home Office or through community organisations working in coordination with both UK and home-country authorities. The process typically avoids the re-entry bans and legal penalties associated with forced removal, and can include financial or logistical assistance to help the individual return home. Organisations such as United Sikhs act as intermediaries, helping individuals navigate the process and connecting them with the relevant government channels.
What the Jathedar advised
Addressing the young people directly, Jathedar Gargaj offered specific counsel rooted in both practical and spiritual guidance. He told them never to sell their land in Punjab, regardless of the financial pressure to fund further migration attempts or other expenses. Instead, he advised them to return home, work hard, and lead their lives in accordance with Gurmat, the wisdom and teachings of the Sikh Gurus.
He also called on governments, both in India and in the countries where Punjabi youth seek to migrate, to create meaningful employment opportunities within India itself, so that young people are not driven to leave through desperate or fraudulent channels in the first place.
Why this keeps happening
The pattern the youth described to the Jathedar is not new, but it remains a persistent and damaging feature of migration from Punjab specifically. Agents operating with varying degrees of legality promise students and job seekers pathways to the UK, Canada, Australia and other destinations, often charging fees running into lakhs of rupees per family. When those pathways turn out to be improper, whether through fraudulent visa documentation, misuse of student or visitor visas, or outright illegal entry routes, the individual is left in the destination country without legal status, unable to work legally, and facing eventual removal.
For families in Punjab, the financial toll compounds the emotional one. Land, often the family’s primary asset, is frequently sold or mortgaged to fund these migration attempts. When the migration fails, as it did for the youth who met the Jathedar, that asset is gone and the intended outcome, stable work and residency abroad, never materialises.
What Punjabi diaspora families should know
The dedicated weekly assistance counter that United Sikhs has established at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall is available to anyone facing immigration difficulties in the UK, not only those seeking voluntary return. The organisation’s stated role is to help individuals understand their options, whether that involves regularising their status where possible or coordinating a voluntary return in partnership with UK and Indian government channels.
For families in Punjab considering migration offers from agents promising work, study or settlement pathways abroad, the case of the youth who met the Jathedar is a documented reminder to verify the legitimacy of any agent or scheme before committing significant family funds, and to be sceptical of arrangements that cannot produce clear, verifiable visa documentation before money changes hands.
What families and affected individuals are asking
Where can UK-based Punjabi youth facing immigration difficulties get help?
United Sikhs operates a dedicated weekly assistance counter at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall, on Park Avenue, specifically to help with immigration and related matters. The organisation works in coordination with both UK and Indian government channels for those seeking voluntary return.
Does voluntary return involve any cost to the individual?
According to United Sikhs, individuals assisted through this coordinated process are helped to return to India at government expense, though specific arrangements can vary by case. Contact the organisation directly through the Southall counter for details relevant to an individual situation.
What should families in Punjab do before paying an immigration agent?
Verify the agent’s credentials and legitimacy independently before any payment is made. Request and independently confirm all visa documentation before funds change hands. Be wary of any arrangement promising guaranteed outcomes through unconventional or unclear routes, and consult with community organisations or legal advisers with no financial stake in the transaction before committing family assets such as land or savings.
Who is the Akal Takht Jathedar and what is his role?
The Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the head of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of authority in Sikhism, located in Amritsar, Punjab. The position carries significant moral and spiritual authority for Sikhs worldwide. Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj currently serves in this role in an officiating capacity.
