All Daniel Tadese wants is to be with his wife and child.

But as his son Natnael prepares to mark his fourth birthday next week, there is no end in sight to the bureaucratic nightmare that has torn the family apart.

Mr Tadese, 48, is an Australian citizen of Ethiopian descent who has been living in Melbourne since 2007.

Immigration officials accept that the West Footscray man is the father of Natnael and have accordingly granted the child citizenship by descent.

Yet they have refused to grant Mr Tadese’s wife, Genet Abebe, a partner visa, solely on the basis of DNA testing undertaken in 2012.