I've been stuck on a tiny Pacific island for years and can't get a transit visa to fly home
Summary
Ruchira Ranasingha, a Sri Lankan woman, has been stuck in the Cook Islands for three years after leaving New Zealand on immigration advice and then losing her visa status. New Zealand and Australia have refused her transit visas, leaving her without a feasible route home to Sri Lanka, where she hopes to attend her son’s wedding.Key Facts
- Ranasingha left Sri Lanka in 2018 and later worked as a caregiver in Hong Kong.
- She went to New Zealand in December 2022 and applied for asylum, saying she feared threats from lenders in Sri Lanka.
- New Zealand granted her an asylum seeker open work visa for one year.
- After her employer sought to sponsor an employment visa, she says an immigration adviser told her to leave New Zealand and apply from overseas.
- Her employment visa application was rejected, and New Zealand authorities said she had breached her existing visa conditions by leaving the country.
- New Zealand rejected three applications for a transit visa; Australia also refused her a transit visa.
- The Cook Islands has limited international flights, and the other available routes require biometric information in New Zealand before visas can be processed.
- Ranasingha says her son is getting married in November and her mother has been repeatedly hospitalized with worry.
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