A German national Jakob Lindenthal, currently studying at Department of Physics in IIT Madras, on a student exchange program has been asked to leave the country, after it came to light that he violated VISA norms.
As per news reports, he took part in Anti-CAA protests recently and was pictured in the media extensively. 1933 to 1945; We Have Been There, said a poster which Jacob Lindenthal, carried during the protests. Jacob had one semester left to finish his post-graduation course in Physics. Apparently IIT Madras is not involved in this process, as it was local immigration authorities who asked him to leave the country on Monday.
Jakob Lindenthal holding placards 
Jakob Lindenthal holding placards
Technically it is not deportation, but his VISA has been cancelled because of violating the rules. A student visa holder can’t take part in political activities.
“Foreign nationals shall be required to strictly adhere to the purpose of visit declared while submitting the visa application”
according to the General Policy Guidelines made available to every VISA applicant.
There has been a wide uproar in social media and TV channels with people criticising the decision of immigration authorities. But those in support of it admire the decision by authorities.
“Good. I am sure the students are made aware of the rules for the exchange program to run smoothly. If our students from India do the same in Germany or any other country, they will receive the same fate”, a user with handle @asha_2009 posted on Twitter.
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It is unclear how the matter was escalated to the immigration. Perhaps someone from IIT Madras tipped the authorities. An official at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office said Lindenthal violated visa rules if he attended the protest, and the institution was bound to report the matter to authorities.
This is not the first time a foreigner has been asked to leave for violating visa norms. In April this year, Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed was asked to leave the country when he was spotted campaigning for TMC’s Raiganj candidate Kanhaiyalal Agarwal in the General Elections.