A woman who was paralysed after paying for a private operation will be deported at the end of January, despite the risk to her health.

The woman, 48, and her husband, 51, faced deportation after their limited visas – issued to cover the medical procedure for her spine, which was carried out in Auckland – expired in June 2019.

The couple appealed the decision to the Immigration Protection Tribunal in November, saying the family had nowhere to live in their home country of Tonga and there was no medical infrastructure, equipment or clinical support for her needs. 

A doctor at an Auckland hospital confirmed there would be a "significantly increased risk of deterioration" of the wife's health in Tonga, the decision said.

While the tribunal found the couple met exceptional "humanitarian circumstances", it said those reasons did not make it unjust or unduly harsh for them to be deported. 

At this point, she could not walk independently and required a wheelchair. 

In March 2015, the woman injured herself while playing netball in Tonga.

After several months, her mobility worsened and a Tongan doctor referred her to a neurosurgeon in Auckland for an opinion and possible treatment. 

At this point, she could not walk independently and required a wheelchair. 

The couple sold all their belongings to pay for flights and visas and arrived in New Zealand in December 2015.

The neurosurgeon said the wife would become paraplegic within a few months without intervention but there was a possibility that surgery could improve her health. 

However, the surgeon said he warned the couple there was a "real risk" of complete paraplegia as a result of the surgery, including no lower limb movement and loss of bladder and bowel control. 

But there was no other effective treatment and the wife would be paralysed anyway if nothing was done, the decision said.

The couple's family funded the $27,000 operation, which was performed in February 2019 at a private hospital in Auckland. 

The operation resulted in her being a paraplegic. Following the operation, her husband took up care of his wife full-time while their two youngest children went to school.

Family members funded the hire of a bed and a hoist to transfer the wife to and from a wheelchair. 

The tribunal noted paraplegia was the inevitable result for the woman if surgery was not attempted and there was no established error in her medical treatment.

The couple submitted the woman's condition would not have a significant impact on New Zealand's health services, but the tribunal did not agree.

Their appeal against deportation was declined. The couple were granted visitor visas until January 31, 2020, when they must leave the country.