Samoa has bestowed the honour of a chiefly title, or matai, on Mr Luxon during a visit to the Polynesian nation on Monday.
Though quite how he got it is another story.
On Sunday, Samoan Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt told local media Mr Luxon, through New Zealand diplomats, had requested the title in preparation for the trip.
Following denials from his office, and a backlash in both New Zealand and Samoa, Mr Schmidt then corrected himself.
"It was always the government's intention to extend this honour to Prime Minister Luxon," a Samoan government statement read.
A matai is afforded to leaders in Samoa, including the head of villages, or members of parliament, in accordance with the country's traditional form of governance.
In recent years, titles have been increasingly offered to foreigners, and not uncontroversially.
Several New Zealand prime ministers and leaders, as well as King Charles and Anthony Albanese, on their attendance at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, have been granted a matai.
Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i is another to have received the honour, offered to the Wallabies star when he visited as a 19-year-old by the villages of his Samoan grandparents.
In Samoa, to hold a matai is an honour, but also comes with a promise of service to the community.
To this end, Mr Schmidt - whose matai is La'aulialemalietoa - offered another retraction, avoiding the suggestion the matai had been given as a quid pro quo as it seeks a relaxation of onerous travel restrictions.
A hot issue in Samoa, as with many Pacific nations, is visa rules for entry to New Zealand and Australia.
Almost 50,000 have signed a petition asking the New Zealand government to ease restrictions and make Pacific people eligible for visas on arrival.
While Mr Schmidt said it would be a "perfect first act of service" by Mr Luxon in his interview on the weekend, the government statement also climbed down from that goal.
"It was never intended that the bestowal of a matai title would place an obligation on P.M. Luxon with respect to New Zealand Government decisions, including on immigration policy," the statement read.
Mr Luxon told journalists he was mulling policy options on the matter, acknowledging "that Samoa and Tonga are a major source of overstayers".
"If we don't have some sort of visa screening, that problem could be much bigger and that causes a different set of challenges. So it's just finding the balance through that," he said.
Mr Luxon, who will also visit Tonga this week, has made trans-national crime his biggest issue of the trip, given the proliferation of drug trafficking though the region.
As for his title kerfuffle, the NZ foreign ministry, MFAT, has put the issue down to a miscommunication.
"As is normal in the preparation for a prime minister's visit there were detailed discussions with the host government about arrangements," a MFAT spokesperson said.
"The high commissioner asked for advance notice of any important announcements or honours to ensure that the prime minister could be properly prepared."
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