Stranded in the Cook Islands: Why I can't get home to Sri Lanka

A closer look at Stranded in the Cook Islands: Why I can't get home to Sri Lanka

What this BBC piece reports

This is a first-person report about Ruchira Ranasingha, who has been stuck in the Cook Islands since 2023 and cannot get a transit visa to return to Sri Lanka. The story explains how she left New Zealand after applying for an employment visa from overseas, was refused that visa, and then lost the right to further New Zealand visas because leaving breached her asylum-linked visa terms.

The article quotes Ranasingha, her family, an immigration adviser she used, and an Auckland immigration law specialist who criticises the advice she received. It also includes comments from Immigration New Zealand that several of her transit visa applications were declined because officials were not satisfied she intended to transit through New Zealand.

What actually happened to her travel plans

Ranasingha travelled from New Zealand to the Cook Islands so an adviser could submit a fresh employment visa application from overseas, but the employment visa was refused. When she tried to fly from the Cook Islands to Sri Lanka she was prevented from boarding without a New Zealand transit visa.

She applied multiple times for transit visas to New Zealand and Australia and was rejected; Tahiti and Hawaii required biometrics to be provided in New Zealand before processing any visa, so those routes were not usable. Local people in the Cook Islands have provided her accommodation, food and a sewing machine.

Who might find this story useful or relevant

People researching immigration and visa problems, or the risks of using paid immigration consultants rather than regulated legal advisers, will find concrete examples and expert comment in the piece.

Family members of migrants, journalists, or anyone wanting a human example of how visa rules and transit requirements can trap someone abroad will find the account relevant and specific.

Questions people ask about Stranded in the Cook Islands: Why I can't get home to Sri Lanka

Does the article say why her transit visas were refused?

Immigration New Zealand told the BBC her transit visa applications were declined because officials were not satisfied she had a genuine intention to transit through New Zealand.

Could she have flown via Tahiti or Hawaii instead?

Those destinations required her to give biometric information in New Zealand before any visa could be processed, which she could not do without being granted entry to New Zealand.

Did the BBC reach the immigration adviser she used?

The BBC reached out to the adviser named in the article but did not receive a response.