An Afghan man who worked with Australian troops has maintained his humanitarian visa after an administrative snafu resulted in him getting a rejection letter with no explanation.

Juma Gul Gul, also known as Jumaghul, was granted an in-country special humanitarian visa on November 3, but received a second letter rejecting his application two weeks later, Home Affairs Department documents seen by AAP showed.

It stunned his friend and former mentor, Warren Stevens and his wife Jo, who had been handling the paperwork and application.

Mr Stevens had trained Jumaghul at a trade school in Afghanistan during his first tour in 2008.

The couple had first helped lodge a physical visa form, which they then struggled to get confirmation of when contacting the Home Affairs Department for updates, be

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