A Syrian man convicted on two charges of possessing a false passport when he and his family tried to enter New Zealand in 2005 has had his convictions set aside, after a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The man, known as X because his name and details have been suppressed, will not be retried as he was sentenced to two years, three months' imprisonment in August 2009 and since been released on parole.

He arrived at Auckland with his wife and four children in November 2005. He and his family were Syrian and travelling on false Belgian passports in their own names.

According to their false travel documents, which were detected at Auckland Airport, they were Belgian citizens coming to New Zealand as tourists for 14 days.

X sought refugee status, falsely claiming he was wanted by Syrian authorities for stealing and destroying potentially sensitive materials from the military.

Two charges of possessing a false passport were laid against him in November 2005, and in July 2009 he was convicted after a jury trial in the Manukau District Court.

He and his family have not been granted refugee status.

In March this year, the Removal Review Authority directed they be granted residence permits, as he had been detained and beaten in Syria in the early 1990s.

The Court of Appeal, in a decision released today, allowed his appeal on the basis that he had a "reasonable excuse" to possess a false passport despite being unsuccessful in seeking refugee status, as he could have had a genuine belief he might be accepted as a refugee.

(Source Otago Daily Times)