 "Why over 460 Indian truck drivers have lost their licences in New Zealand")
A major licensing crackdown in New Zealand has taken hundreds of Indian truck drivers off the road, leaving many of them scrambling for answers. In the last few weeks, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has cancelled nearly 460 commercial driving licences, all belonging to drivers from India.
The move has thrown families into financial uncertainty and sparked fresh protests, with many affected drivers insisting they were misled. According to reports in the New Zealand Herald, several drivers say they unknowingly ended up with questionable UAE-issued documents, which are now at the centre of the controversy.
So how did this situation unfold? Why were so many Indian drivers caught up in it? And what do New Zealand’s licensing rules actually require?
Here’s a breakdown.
Indian drivers taken off the Kiwi roads
New Zealand authorities say the issue goes back to an audit launched by NZTA in July, which found problems in how some overseas licences were being converted into New Zealand heavy-vehicle licences, a category essential for the country’s trucking and transport sector.
According to the NZ Herald, the number of cancelled licences has now risen to nearly 460, up from the 440 first announced on November 10. NZTA says the cancellations stem from “false or altered documentation” that was used to prove driving experience overseas.
NZTA spokesperson Shelley Milton told Newstalk ZB that the move came after a “thorough investigation” aimed at protecting road safety. She added that drivers who provided false information could face fines of up to NZ$750 (around Rs 40,000), though no criminal charges have been filed yet.
Details released under an Official Information Act request, reported by The Noticer, show that every cancelled licence belonged to an Indian national. Of these, 436 were linked to UAE-issued papers, 18 to documents from Australia, and five from Canada. The drivers were between 24 and 65 years old, with most in their early thirties. Only two of the 459 cancelled licences were held by women.
Many of the affected drivers had submitted supporting letters from providers based in Dubai. These letters were reportedly available online for NZ$500 to NZ$1,000 (Rs 27,000– Rs 54,000) and were previously accepted by authorities. NZTA now says those documents are “non-verifiable or invalid,” leading to the cancellations.
What do New Zealand’s rules require?
To convert an overseas truck licence in New Zealand, applicants must hold a valid licence, either current or expired within the last 12 months, that has not been suspended, cancelled or disqualified in its home country.
Those from “exempt” countries, which have similar licensing systems to New Zealand, face a simpler process. They must verify their identity, meet eyesight standards, provide a medical certificate if needed, present their overseas licence and pass a theory test. They also need to pay the application fee and complete the photo and signature requirements.
Exempt countries include Australia, the UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, the USA, South Africa, and several European nations.
Applicants from non-exempt countries, such as India, must go through all of the above steps and also pass a practical driving test.
Also read: How Indian driver’s accident led to US decision to pause visas for foreign truckers
What are the drivers saying?
On November 22, hundreds of affected drivers and their families gathered in Auckland to protest, The Noticer reported.
Amritpal Singh, a father of two, said his entire livelihood had vanished overnight. “NZTA has taken away our family’s only source of income, how will I feed my kids now?” he told RNZ.
Another driver, Parminder Singh, echoed the distress, “We can’t even pay rent. Our wives and children are being penalised for no fault of theirs.”
Sidhu, a transport operator, told the crowd that some drivers were misled by a Dubai-based provider selling supporting letters, documents that authorities once accepted, for a fee. “Drivers paid for these letters believing they were official,” he said.
Many of the affected drivers, some with more than 10 years of experience driving heavy vehicles over 40 tonnes in the UAE, say they have already proven their skills by passing New Zealand tests and driving safely in the country for one or two years.
Tauranga-based operator Ranjit Singh, who employs four drivers, said two of them migrated from the UAE and now face losing their ability to work.
“These drivers can’t be replaced overnight,” he told RNZ. “I advertised for a year and couldn’t find a single local driver. Training a new driver takes months. This crisis has hit us out of nowhere, right at peak season.”
A 2025 Road Transport Workforce Report, cited by 1News, shows Asian drivers, predominantly Indian, now comprise nearly 20 per cent of the sector, up 10 per cent since 2013.
ACT Party MP Parmjeet Parmar, who met the affected drivers last weekend, said businesses and supply chains could suffer.
“Hundreds of experienced Class 5 drivers being stood down just weeks before Christmas will place enormous strain on freight networks,” she said. “Businesses depend on this period to recover financially. They cannot operate without qualified drivers.”
Commercial law specialist Sarfaraz Khan earlier told RNZ that he is pushing for a case-by-case remediation process and is set to meet NZTA officials.
With input from agencies
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