A former immigration official and his associate have been sentenced to home detention for accepting a bribe, with a judge telling them they were "lucky" not to be locked up.

Peter Lim and Kooi Leng Pan were sentenced in the Auckland District Court today following a Serious Fraud Office prosecution.

Both pleaded guilty earlier in the year to corruption and bribery charges.

Lim worked as a Border Control Officer and between February and April 2013, worked with Pan to corruptly accept more than $26 thousand dollars from two individuals for the immigration assistance.

Lim has received a sentenced of eight months home detention, and Pan got six months.