Kenya, Ivory Coast, Kuwait and Cuba were touch and go to make the event, which begins on Friday (January 21), as they had neglected to get visas for either New Zealand or Australia - where some of the teams transit - or both.

However, Paralympics New Zealand chief executive Fiona Pickering said the four teams will now be arriving and competing in Christchurch after a lot of work from her organisation.

Pickering told insideworldparasport: "We are very pleased we have been able to work with all the relevant authorities, who have been extremely co-operative, to get this issue solved.

"We now look forward to a fantastic event getting under way on Friday."

Competitors from Kenya, Kuwait and Cuba, who had problems with transit visas into Australia, will arrive today or tomorrow while Immigration New Zealand has now approved visas for the Ivory Coast team after a hold-up at the service's field office in Pretoria.

Although visas for Australia still needed to be obtained, it appears the Ivory Coast team will arrive in time.

An IPC spokesperson added: "We are delighted with the way all the authorities from Australia and New Zealand have worked together to get this problem sorted.

"We are very happy that Kenya, Ivory Coast, Kuwait and Cuba are set to be here for what promises to be a fantastic competition."

With the four teams on board, the championships will feature more than 1,000 athletes from over 70 countries competing at the 20,000-capacity QU II Stadium.

The 10-day event takes on added importance as it offers a large amount of qualifying points for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

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