Chinese couple tried to pass baby off as their own

Immigration New Zealand discovered documents about the baby, including its birth certificate, had been forged. Photo / Thinkstock

The actions of a Chinese couple who tried to bring a baby into the country and pass it off as their own to gain residency permits amounted to child trafficking, the Immigration and Protection Tribunal says.

The husband, who had lived in New Zealand since 2008, was denied re-entry into the country in 2012 after Immigration New Zealand discovered documents about the baby, including its birth certificate, had been forged.

It said the man failed to meet the country's good character assessment.

He appealed against the decision to the tribunal.

The tribunal said the man, who was not named in the decision, was willing to produce false evidence to bring a child from China to New Zealand.

"When the couple decided to bring the baby, born in China, to New Zealand, and arranged for all the necessary false documentation to pass him off as their son and his wife as the child's birth mother, this amounted to child trafficking."

The 51-year-old husband and 43-year-old wife had been trying to get residency for four years, but their application had been held up while the validity of their relationship was investigated, the tribunal's decision said.

During that time the couple had been in the country legally on working visas.

The couple told Immigration NZ in July 2012 that after the baby was born the mother had returned to New Zealand for business reasons.

The father and baby had remained in China, but planned to return.

When the child's document's were found to be forged, the husband's work visa was cancelled and he was denied entry into New Zealand.

The wife told Immigration NZ she had been desperate for a baby and the child was unwanted and would have otherwise been sent to an orphanage.

She believed that having a child would prove to Immigration New Zealand that her partnership with the appellant was not a sham.

The man's representative told the tribunal that the four years taken to determine his residence application was excessive.

Immigration NZ said it was the couple's attempts to falsify documents rather than formally adopting the baby that gave rise to the character issues.

The tribunal upheld Immigration NZ's decision.

"It is clear that the appellant does not respect New Zealand's immigration law and has demonstrated a willingness to use false information."