﻿A fraudster with a police record has dodged deportation and will be allowed to stay in New Zealand.

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Jugraj Singh's application for a partnership visa was earlier slapped down on character grounds.

RNZ Immigration is heating up as an election issue, but at the same time there are warnings NZ may struggle to get the skilled migrants it needs in the future (video first published November 2019).

The 26-year-old Indian citizen fraudulently altered four documents in 2017 to make his relationship with his sick wife appear of longer duration than it really was.

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He became liable for deportation but took his appeal to the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal, representing himself.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Jugraj Singh has been granted a 12 month visa on humanitarian grounds following an appeal (file photo).

The key issue at play was whether separating Singh from his wife and infant son gave rise to exceptional humanitarian circumstances, making his deportation unjust or overly harsh.

Originally from Punjab in northern India, Singh arrived in New Zealand in 2015 on a student visa, according to the tribunal's judgment.

A year later he met his wife-to-be, a New Zealand citizen. They had a son and married soon after.

Along the way Singh lodged the dodgy partnership work visa which was to be the source of his troubles.

In support of the application he provided four altered documents, but later admitted he had changed their dates to make his relationship look longer than it really was.

He admitted the fraud, his visa application was declined on character grounds and he earned a police record.

His interim visa lapsed on March 24, 2019 and his residence in New Zealand became unlawful.

A statement from Singh in support of his application expressed remorse for altering the documents, saying he worried he would not be able to stay in New Zealand to protect and support his family

Tribunal member Martha Roche's judgment said his wife was diagnosed with both rheumatic fever and rhematic heart disease. As a result she requires bicillin injections every 28 days.

India struggles with prevention and control of rheumatic heart disease and it had been "deprioritised to the point of neglect", Roche's judgment said.

Singh's wife wished to remain in New Zealand and would not accompany Singh to India were he deported.

A statutory declaration by his wife, who was unnamed in the judgement, said she wanted her husband to stay in New Zealand where he was doing the job of father "perfectly".

She also said their infant son had suffered "a lot of sickness" over the past year, including a seizure.

In considering the appeal, Roche said Singh's altering of the documents constituted an attempt to undermine the integrity of the immigration process.

On the other hand, "exceptional humanitarian circumstances" existed in this case, Roche found.

Deporting Singh would leave a son without a father and a wife without a husband.

Despite Singh's clear fraud, allowing him to remain in New Zealand for the time being was not contrary to the public interest, Roche said.

The tribunal ordered Singh be granted a 12-month work visa.

He will be able to test his eligibility for residence by lodging a new application based on his partnership, the judgement said.

"[Immigration New Zealand's] assessment of his application will include a consideration of whether his circumstances, in light of his wife's need for specialised health care and apparent inability to access this in India, are compelling enough to warrant granting him a character waiver."