A Chinese man has been deported after bribing a police officer in his home country to get fake documents and failing to declare he had been in prison.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal has dismissed Jianrong Liang's appeal against deportation.
Mr Liang came to New Zealand to work as a chef in a takeaway shop in 2012, and was joined by his wife and son two years later.
He was granted a three-year work visa, but last year immigration authorities received an anonymous tip that he had been jailed for theft and had produced false police documents.
Mr Liang said he thought the Chinese government cleared criminal records after 10 years if no crime had been committed in that time.
He said he got the police certificate through someone he met on a bus, who claimed to be a government agent.