Their visitor visas expired and they began living as illegal immigrants.
The teen was unable to enrol in school without alerting immigration authorities and the family soon ran out of money to pay for food.
Lata began working as a prostitute and told her 14-year-old daughter she needed to start doing the same to help support the family financially.
Despite refusing, the teen was sold for the first time the day she turned 15.
The teen, who has permanent name suppression, fled to police in November 2016.
Lata was convicted of dealing in slaves and receiving earnings from commercial sexual services from an underage person.
Her partner Avneensh Sehgal has pleaded guilty to dealing in underage people for sexual exploitation and receiving earnings from underage sexual exploitation and will be sentenced later this month.
Until today, the teenager has had no legal status in New Zealand and lived in fear every day that she would be deported.
Without status she could not work, attend school or take up any other studies.
The Herald can now reveal that Immigration New Zealand advised her this morning that she had been granted residency.
She is now able to work and study - and live in New Zealand permanently.
The young victim did not want to comment further on her case.
But she spoke exclusively to the Herald following her mother's sentencing.
"I just wanted my mother to acknowledge what she had done, by pleading guilty she showed me that she was sorry - that she knows what she has done is wrong," she said.
"Now it's over - everything is over and I am free to live the life I always wanted to have.
"I was scared to death, but now I am comfortable."
