New Zealand Legislation: Acts

27 Offences and penalties

• (1) Every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $15,000, or both, who—

  • (a) for the purpose of procuring anything to be done or not to be done under this Act,—

    • (i) makes any statement that he or she knows to be false in a material particular; or

    • (ii) recklessly makes any statement that is false in a material particular; or

  • (b) knowingly or recklessly submits false or forged documents to support a citizenship application; or

  • (c) in contravention of section 24, knowingly—

    • (i) alters or defaces a document; or

    • (ii) fails to deliver a document; or

  • (d) knowingly or recklessly lends or parts with a document (as defined in section 24(1)) for unlawful purposes; or

  • (e) knowingly resists, obstructs, or deceives any person who is exercising or attempting to exercise any function or power imposed or conferred under this Act.

  (2) Every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $50,000, or both, who, knowingly and without reasonable excuse,—

  • (a) records, deletes, or alters any entry in a citizenship register or database; or

  • (b) takes a citizenship document (including any blank certificate) from where it is officially kept; or

  • (c) issues a citizenship document to a person who has no lawful entitlement to the document.

  Subsection (1) was amended, as from 18 November 1992, by section 11(1) Citizenship Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 104) by substituting the expression “$3,000” for the expression “$1,000”.

  Subsection (2) was amended, as from 18 November 1992, by section 11(2) Citizenship Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 104) by substituting the expression “$500” for the expression “$200”.

  Section 27 was substituted, as from 21 April 2005, by section 14 Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 43).