A severely intellectually disabled man who was served a deportation order has now been granted a residence visa for New Zealand.
20-year-old, Sagar Narayan, who lives in the West Auckland suburb of Kelston, was served a deportation order in April this year and was given until 27th October to leave New Zealand for Fiji.
However, the then newly‑sworn Associate Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi stepped in to review the case and stopped the deportation just hours before it was to be carried out.
Narayan's father Lalit Narayan says he learned of the "good news" through his lawyer on 20th December and was waiting for written confirmation.
Narayan adds that he is happy and he acknowledges the Government and the people of New Zealand.
Lalit Narayan had earlier stated that his son would not be able to survive independently in Fiji.
The Narayan family were granted permanent residence when they arrived in New Zealand in 2008.
However, Sagar Narayan was withdrawn from his father's application at the time and he remained in Fiji.
He lived in Fiji until his grandparents died in 2009.
An aunt initially cared for him but her ill‑health meant she could no longer be his care-giver.
Lalit Narayan decided to bring his son to New Zealand.
The father who is a professional care-giver says he has spent thousands of dollars to keep his son in the country.
Sagar Narayan lived in New Zealand on temporary visas until January 2016, before the NZ Immigration declined his residency under the dependent child category.
In April, he was served deportation orders and five months later the NZ Immigration ordered that he be out of the country by the end of October.
