'These actions were despicable' - Fijian woman sentenced for NZ visa fraud after husband made up story that family had been massacred

A Fijian woman has been sentenced to nine months home detention and 120 hours community work for visa fraud, in a case linked to her husband who obtained residence after falsely claiming his family had been massacred.

Aneela Wati was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court today after earlier pleading guilty to a charge under the Immigration Act of knowingly producing a visa that had been obtained fraudulently. 

Wati’s husband, Satya Nand, was sentenced earlier this year to 29 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a representative charge under the Crimes Act of using false documentation to obtain a benefit. 

Nand managed to obtain New Zealand residence then citizenship by creating a new identity and making up a story that he arrived in New Zealand as a stowaway after his entire family was killed by a group of Bangladeshi.

He obtained identity documents in his false name and used documentation to obtain benefits for himself, his wife and their children.

Once Nand had obtained residence and citizenship, Wati obtained a residence visa for her and three of their children by remarrying Nand and pretending that she didn’t know him previously. 

In 2004 when Wati arrived at Auckland International Airport, she presented her resident visa to gain entry despite knowing the document, and her children’s visas, had been obtained fraudulently. 

In this way she supported her husband’s offending by maintaining his false identity to obtain visas for herself and the children to enter New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand said.  

Immigration NZ Assistant General Manager, Peter Devoy, says the fraudulent behaviour demonstrated by the couple will not be tolerated.

“The family had an elaborate story about Nand’s fabricated refugee past and his dream of living in New Zealand. These actions were despicable, especially considering the suffering many genuine refugees experience,” Mr Devoy said.

“As with all visa applications, the responsibility is on the applicant to ensure they provide genuine and accurate information as part of their visa application. The officers involved in this case worked diligently to identify the fraud that led to this case coming to court," he said.