On Wednesday, 24-year-old Balwinder Singh and his 61-year-old wife Glyn Kessell-Singh finally won the battle with Immigration New Zealand.
Balwinder Singh came to New Zealand as an international student and met Ms Kessell at a hair salon in 2012.
They started texting and were married within three months in January 2013.
Six months after their marriage in 2013, Balwinder Singh’s work visa under the partnership category was denied in July 2013.
The application was assessed twice by different officers who did not believe that the partnership was genuine and stable.
With an age gap of 38 years, Balwinder Singh had to convince the authorities he had not married for visa.
The couple's immigration adviser, Tuariki Delamere, filed a complaint against the case officers, alleging discrimination over age, culture and religion in their decision.
Four years later, Immigration NZ has issued him a residence visa.
"INZ is now satisfied that Mr Singh and his wife are in a genuine and stable relationship and that he meets all the other requirements for residence," the spokesman told .
The couple told , "We are delighted permanent residency has been approved and that Immigration have rectified their previous error.
"It was a challenging time and we thank all those who helped and supported us along the way. We can now move forward together with an eye on the future."
Mrs Kessell-Singh has a 39-year-old son from an earlier marriage and when asked how she felt about being older than her in-laws, she said ‘age is not relevant’.
"I don't give a stuff ... I am 21 in my mind. It's not about the age, it's about who you like. Age is not relevant," she said.
More about Indian community in New Zealand:
Business school with maximum Indian international students shut down
