'LGBTQ+ people will never be accepted in India': One man's fight against deportation

The first thing Tarun Godara's brother said when he found out his sibling was gay was to promise he'd help him get out of India. 

He worried about what could happen to Godara and the wider family if people found out. 

Godara was in his early twenties then, and had already experienced a decade of hiding, taunting, blackmailing, and assault related to his sexual identity. 

It was decided that he would head to Canada as an international student – and so he landed in Sudbury to get an arts education at Cambrian College in 2017.

In the years that followed, he built a life in Sudbury. He made close friends, found jobs, adopted a dog, grew indoor plants, created murals, was hired to do the courtroom portrait of convicted Sweeney killer Steven Wright, among other things. 

"I never thought that I would fall in love with the city and that I would create a family here," said Godara. "It's the place I call home."  

But all that could be taken any day now as Godara faces imminent deportation. 

The troubles with immigration began in 2022. Up until then, Godara had a clear plan of the steps he'd take to extend his stay in Canada.

But a combination of bad timing, poor advice and mistakes threw that plan off the rails. 

Godara's post graduation work permit was set to expire in August 2022, the same month a special federal government policy allowing to extend those permits was to come into effect. 

The issue, though, is that he had to apply for renewal of the permit 30 days before it expired, and so he sent an application before the policy was in place, although he was eligible for it. 

He worried that could pose a problem – so he called the Immigration Department and his local MP's office to confirm he had done the right thing. 

Both told him to keep his application in the system.

That turned out to be a mistake. Godara's work permit extension applications got rejected, one after another.