The Overseas Investment Office said the first penalty had been imposed on a foreigner for leasing - rather than buying - New Zealand land illegally.
The High Court at Auckland ordered Chinese citizen Bin Zhao to pay a penalty of $49,000 and $15,000 in costs for failing to get consent from the office before entering a long-term lease of land classified as sensitive.
Zhao, 61, is a permanent New Zealand resident who lives here with his wife and son, owns businesses here and in China as well as several residential and commercial New Zealand properties.
All foreigners need consent before buying or leasing sensitive land.
"This is the third court-ordered penalty decision for breaches of the Overseas Investment Act in recent weeks, and the first court case involving an overseas investor leasing land in New Zealand," the office said.