Chinese woman faked identity for NZ residency

  • 15/06/2016
Chinese woman faked identity for NZ residency

A Chinese woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for immigration fraud to gain New Zealand residency.

Yunjuan Li was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court after pleading guilty to six charges of supplying false or misleading information to an immigration officer and one representative charge of producing a passport knowing it to have been fraudulently obtained.

She was declined a visa to New Zealand, but after changing the identity of both her and her 18-year-old son with the help of a travel agency, was able to get a Chinese passport under these fake identities .

A visitor visa was approved in 2005 for the pair. In 2006, Li married a New Zealand citizen and was granted residency in 2011, under her false identity.

Li was arrested in 2015 after an investigation by Immigration New Zealand (INZ), who will be reviewing her liability for deportation.

"Over a period of years Yunjuan Li successfully duped a number of people and organisations into believing she was someone else," says INZ assistant general manager Peter Devoy.

"INZ will not stand by while people commit immigration fraud. The message is clear -- we will find you and we will take you to court."

Li was sentenced to 26 months' in prison. Her now 30-year-old son Bao Li was sentenced to 300 hours' community work and was sentenced to community detention.

Newshub.