On Thursday, the 26-year-old was named in the Black Caps test squad. Two weeks earlier, that possibility seemed unlikely.
After spending the past four summers in New Zealand playing his cricket for Otago, Wagner was still waiting for clearance from the International Cricket Council.
He had unwittingly jeopardised his eligibility by spending some time outside of the country.
The ICC rules state he needed to have spent 183 days in New Zealand for four consecutive years. But he made a short trip back to South Africa to attend a wedding in 2008 and played for Otago at the Champions League in India in 2009.
Thankfully, common sense prevailed and he was cleared late last month. With the hurdles removed, he was promptly selected for the tour of the West Indies.
"It has been the best day of my life to be completely honest," Wagner said from Pretoria yesterday.
"A couple of weeks ago it didn't look like it was going to turn out this way and that was quite frustrating. I had my mind set that I would have to wait another year.
"Things seemed a bit dark and a bit hard at that stage but everything just turned out well and it happened quite quickly.
"I'm just really pleased and very relieved to be honest. I'm a happy man, but also I know I've got a lot more hard work in front of me now."
The irony is while Wagner is eligible to play for New Zealand, he still needs a visa to return to Aotearoa.
He has paid taxes here for the past four years and even owns a house in Dunedin, but before he can return, he has to get a police clearance and jump through certain hoops to satisfy immigration.
When he sorts out his visa, he will return. In the meantime, he is taking advantage of the weather in the republic and is training with his old club side in Pretoria.
"Knowing that finally everything I've worked for is right there is very exciting.
"But also you know you have to put your head down and work even harder. It is not easy to make the team but it is easier to get in than it is to stay there, so there is a lot of hard work involved."
