Sri Lankan Woman Stranded in Cook Islands Amid Visa Denials

Ruchira Ranasingha, a 50-year-old Sri Lankan woman, has been stranded in the Cook Islands for three years, desperately seeking a way back to her home country. Her journey has been complicated by a series of visa denials from New Zealand and Australia, leaving her without a clear path to return.

Ranasingha initially traveled to New Zealand with the intention of settling there. After seeking asylum, she was advised by an immigration consultant to temporarily leave New Zealand to apply for a work visa. However, her application was rejected while she was in the Cook Islands. Her departure from New Zealand also meant she had violated the terms of her existing asylum-linked visa.

Now, New Zealand has refused to issue her a transit visa to fly back to Sri Lanka. Australia has also denied her transit visa applications. The only other international destinations accessible from the Cook Islands, Tahiti and Hawaii, require biometric information to be provided in New Zealand before any visa can be processed, creating a Catch-22 situation.

Ranasingha left Sri Lanka in 2018 due to business losses and financial pressures following her husband's death. She worked in Hong Kong before moving to New Zealand in late 2022. After her initial visa expired, she applied for asylum, which granted her an open work visa. She found employment and sought to secure a more permanent visa, but this application was declined as asylum seekers cannot typically apply for other visas while their claims are being processed in New Zealand.

She then engaged Immigration & Secretarial Services, a firm that allegedly advised her to apply for a new employment visa from overseas. After leaving New Zealand for the Cook Islands, her visa application was again denied. The firm's manager reportedly admitted fault and suggested she return home.

When Ranasingha attempted to fly back to Sri Lanka, she was informed she needed a New Zealand transit visa, which she had been repeatedly denied. Three applications to New Zealand for transit visas were rejected on the grounds that authorities were not convinced of her genuine intention to transit. Four Australian transit visa applications were also rejected. New Zealand authorities indicated that measures such as handcuffing and escorting would not override the potential for an asylum claim, thus preventing transit.

Despite these challenges, Ranasingha has found support from locals and hotel staff in the Cook Islands, who have provided her with accommodation, food, and clothing. A hotel director even gave her a sewing machine, allowing her to earn a small income.

Immigration law specialists suggest that New Zealand authorities are hesitant to grant transit visas because they believe she may not intend to return to Sri Lanka, given her prior asylum claim. Australia's interior ministry declined to comment on individual cases but stated that non-citizens must meet the requirements of the Migration Act 1958. Meanwhile, Ranasingha's family is working with the Sri Lankan government to facilitate her return. The Sri Lankan High Commission in Wellington is reportedly collaborating with New Zealand authorities on the matter.