Sagar Narayan's father says he may not have survived on his own if he had been deported.

A severely intellectually disabled man who was served a deportation order has now been granted a residence visa for New Zealand, his father says.

Sagar Narayan, 20, who lives in the West Auckland suburb of Kelston, was served a deportation order in April this year and was given until October 27 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.

MAHVASH ALI/STUFF Sagar Narayan needs help for everyday things.

Narayan's father Lalit Narayan said he learned of the "good news" through his lawyer on his December 20 and was waiting for written confirmation.

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"I am happy. I would like to thank the Government and the people of New Zealand for this."

Lalit Narayan had earlier said his son would not be able to survive independently in Fiji.

He said he knew sending his son to Fiji would have been "certain death" for the disabled man who needed assistance with day-to-day tasks.

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However, Sagar Narayan was withdrawn from his father's application at the time and he remained in Fiji.

That was where he lived until his grandparents died in 2009.

An aunt initially cared for him but her ill-health meant she could no longer be his caregiver.

Lalit Narayan decided to bring his son to New Zealand.

The father - who is a professional caregiver - said 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 Immigration NZ declined his residency under the dependent child category.

In April, he was served deportation orders and five months later Immigration NZ ordered him out of the country by the end of October.