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Daiga / Unsplash
A man brought three of his children to live with him in New Zealand, but ran into trouble when the truth about his son’s relationship was revealed. (File photo)
A man’s attempt to secure his son’s New Zealand residency has been thwarted after he discovered midway through the process that the boy is not his biological child.
The plight of the family was revealed in a recent decision by the Immigration and Protection Court, published online this month.
The man, who is not identified in the decision, went to court after Immigration New Zealand rejected his son’s residency application.
The court heard that the man has lived in New Zealand since 2009, but makes regular visits to Samoa to visit his partner and children.
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It was during one of those visits that the boy, now 9, was said to have been conceived.
He lived in Samoa with his mother and brothers until 2019, when his father brought him and two of his sisters, now 8 and 10 years old, to New Zealand to live.
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Three younger brothers remain in Samoa with their mother.
But Immigration NZ expressed concern when the man presented his son’s birth certificate, in which he was named father, as part of his residency application.
According to travel records, the man was not in Samoa at the time the child was conceived.
When an immigration officer commented that to the boy’s mother, she said her son was born prematurely, at seven months’ gestation.
However, records show that the man was also not in Samoa seven months before the child was born.
The child could not have been conceived in New Zealand either, as his mother only visited him once, in 2006.
When asked by Immigration NZ, the man said that he had never questioned the time period between the alleged conception and the birth of his son.
“The boy’s mother had told him that he was the biological father and had even named her son after him,” the court heard.
Rachel Simpson / Stuff
The man said he wants to give his children a “good, happy and safe education” in New Zealand (file photo).
“He said he loved his son and was afraid that the boy’s mother might have cheated on him. He was afraid to get a DNA test in case it was established that he was not the father of his child. “
Immigration NZ rejected the child’s residence application because it could not be proved that he is the biological child of his father.
However, the man said that despite the development, “he has always considered himself the father of the appellant.”
He wants to give the three children a “good, happy and safe education” in New Zealand, and his mother has agreed that he has full custody, the court heard.
Children were not well nourished in Samoa and “children were simply left to look after other children”.
Court member Annabelle Clayton said “it may not simply be a question of the father and mother agreeing” on where the child should live. You may have another family, like your true biological father, who should have a say.
Paternity and childcare arrangements will have to be decided through Family Court or Oranga Tamariki, he said.
She ordered that the boy be granted a student visa so that he can remain in New Zealand while his paternity is resolved.
