To leave, he said, "she is going to have to transit through somewhere and no-one will want to take the risk."
A Sri Lankan woman has been stranded in the Cook Islands for almost four years, unable to board a flight home because no transit country will grant her a visa, the BBC reports. Ruchira Ranasingha's case, as described by the broadcaster, is a study in how immigration systems can close around a person one refusal at a time, leaving no route that any single authority is willing to authorise.
According to the BBC, Ranasingha's difficulties began in New Zealand, where she was refused an employment visa and, by leaving the country, breached the terms of her existing visa. New Zealand authorities made clear they would grant her no future visas. She then sought help from an immigration consultant, who, she says, eventually told her she was better off going home. When she arrived at the airport with an Air New Zealand ticket to Sri Lanka, she was told she could not board without a New Zealand transit visa.
Three applications for a New Zealand transit visa were rejected, with authorities saying they were not convinced she would leave New Zealand. Four applications for Australian transit visas were also rejected. New Zealand suggested she explore other routes, but Hawaii and French Polynesia told her biometric information would have to be provided in person in New Zealand before any visa could be processed. Her latest application, which included details of alternative routes, her son's upcoming wedding and her mother's failing health, was also refused.
Immigration New Zealand told the BBC it had received multiple transit visa applications from Ranasingha, all declined because it was not satisfied she had a genuine intention to transit through New Zealand. Asked why a visa could not be granted even when she offered to be handcuffed and escorted, a representative of the immigration minister's office said such measures do not prevent individuals from making an asylum claim. Auckland-based immigration law specialist Alastair McClymont told the BBC that she had received "terrible advice", and suggested New Zealand would not grant the visa because she had made an asylum claim saying her life was in danger in Sri Lanka. He said New Zealand coordinates with Australia, and that France and the US were likely to reach similar conclusions. To leave, he said, "she is going to have to transit through somewhere and no-one will want to take the risk."
The case exposes the gap between the formal right to return home and the practical machinery of transit. Sri Lanka's foreign ministry told the BBC it was taking all necessary steps to facilitate her return, with its High Commission in Wellington working with New Zealand authorities. Her brother said the family had tried "every possible avenue" without success, and described her mental state as poor. Much remains unconfirmed: the BBC did not receive a response from the consultant, and the full reasoning behind each refusal has not been published. What is clear is that a woman with a ticket, a destination and a government willing to receive her still cannot board a plane.
