15 june 2016

Woman jailed over immigration fraud

A Chinese woman has been sentenced to 26 months’ imprisonment for immigration fraud.

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.

After being declined a visa to New Zealand, Yunjuan Li enlisted the help of an international travel agency to change the identity of both her and her 18- year-old son and obtained a fraudulent Chinese passport for both of them.

Under her new identity Li was approved a visitor visa in 2005 and subsequently married a New Zealand citizen in 2006. In 2011 she was granted a residence under her false identity. She was arrested in 2015 following an investigation by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) which revealed the true extent of her offending.

INZ Assistant General Manager, Peter Devoy says, “Over a period of years Yunjuan Li successfully duped a number of people and organisations into believing she was someone else.

Immigration New Zealand will not stand by while people commit immigration fraud. The message is clear- we will find you and we will take you to court.”

INZ will be reviewing Li’s liability for deportation.

Li’s 30 year old son – Bao Li was sentenced to 300 hours of community work and placed under a community detention order for his offending.

ends

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