A 50-year-old Sri Lankan woman has been stuck on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific for three years. Ruchira Ranasingha is desperate to return to Sri Lanka, but she cannot leave because neighboring countries refuse to grant her a transit visa to travel through their airports.
Ranasingha originally traveled to New Zealand in December 2022 to seek asylum. While working there, an immigration adviser told her to temporarily leave the country to apply for a long-term work visa. She flew to the nearby Cook Islands to wait for the decision, but her application was rejected. Leaving New Zealand also broke the conditions of her original visa, meaning New Zealand authorities would not permit her to return.
When Ranasingha bought a ticket to fly home to Sri Lanka, airlines informed her that she needed a transit visa to pass through New Zealand. Officials in New Zealand and Australia have rejected multiple transit visa applications, saying they are not convinced she would leave their countries. Other possible flight routes through Hawaii or Tahiti require in-person biometric checks that she can only complete in New Zealand, leaving her with no way out.
While she remains stranded, a local hotel has allowed her to stay for free in staff housing, and residents have provided her with food, clothing, and a sewing machine to earn money. However, Ranasingha says the long delay has caused severe emotional distress, especially because her mother is ill and her son is getting married soon in Sri Lanka.