TWO Vietnamese girls have been allowed to stay in Hongkong with their mother, after immigration officials finally accepted that they were related.
Nguyen Thi Van, 13, and her 11-year-old sister Anh arrived in Hongkong on May 1, seeking their mother, Dinh Thi Nga, who came five years ago.
Mrs Nga, 51, is eligible for resettlement overseas as a refugee.
The girls carried birth certificates but Immigration Department officials told the family they did not believe they were related, apparently because of confusion over the girls' ages.
Van and Anh faced screening and possible repatriation to Vietnam.
But shortly after Mrs Nga told the South China Morning Post two weeks ago that she would undergo genetic tests, if necessary, to prove the girls were hers, immigration officers re-interviewed them.
The local office of the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees also took up their case.