Tajinder Paul Singh, 33, has won his case against being deported to India

A man who raped a sleeping woman at a party and left the country on his flatmate's passport has won his appeal to stay in New Zealand.

In 2014 Tajinder Paul Singh, who was 29, was jailed for six years for the rape of a woman as she slept after a neighbour's house party in Christchurch.

Singh was in New Zealand from India on a temporary visitor visa at the time.

The Immigration and Protection Tribunal suspended his deportation liability for five years, meaning he would not be deported if he did not commit an imprisonable offence in that time.

The tribunal decision from last September, which has just been released, found exceptional circumstances meant it would be "unjust and unduly harsh" to separate the man from his three-year-old child and his wife, who suffered from depression and anxiety.

It said the family were vulnerable and in need of support and there was a strong interest in the family unit staying together.

"In all the circumstances, the tribunal finds that, to the extent the appellant continues to present a risk, this is outweighed by the public interest in keeping the appellant's family together in New Zealand," the ruling said.

In 2012 Singh, who was living apart from his wife, had attended a party in a drunken state and raped the woman as she slept in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

After the woman reported the rape to police, Singh returned to India on his flatmate's passport to be with his parents. On his return five days later, he was charged with rape and passport fraud, adding to a list of several previous convictions including drink driving, careless driving and failing to stop after an accident.

The decision said there had been "a significant effect on the complainant by way of psychological aftermath of the offending".

"He (Singh) committed a serious sexual offence against a vulnerable victim, with lasting emotional repercussions. Also, his other offending demonstrates that he has been prepared to repeatedly contravene New Zealand's laws," the tribunal's notes read.

It later found that the benefit to Singh's family that he remained in the country outweighed the a low risk of his reoffending and they were satisfied it was not against the public interest that he remained in New Zealand.