Stranded in paradise: the Sri Lankan woman who cannot fly home from the Cook Islands
Ruchira Ranasingha has been living on a Pacific island for three years, and she cannot leave. She is not in prison and she is not in hiding, and she even has a plane ticket home. What she does not have is permission to pass through another country on the way there.
Ranasingha, 50, from Sri Lanka, has been stranded in the Cook Islands since 2023. Every flight out of the islands stops somewhere else first, and every country on those routes has refused to let her pass through. New Zealand has turned down three of her transit visa applications. Australia has turned down four. The only other destinations she can fly to, Tahiti and Hawaii, need biometric details given in person in New Zealand first, which brings her back to the same closed door.
Her only child, her son, is getting married in November. Her mother, she says, is so worried that she is constantly in and out of hospital. “I will do anything they ask of me, I just want to go home,” she said through tears. She has even offered to travel handcuffed and escorted, if that is what it takes.
At a glance
What happened: Ruchira Ranasingha, 50, from Sri Lanka, has been stuck in the Cook Islands since 2023 after a plan to apply for a New Zealand work visa from overseas failed. New Zealand and Australia have refused her transit visas, and the other flight routes out require biometric checks she can only do in New Zealand.
Why it matters: Her case shows how transit rules can leave a person with nowhere to go, even when she wants to return home, and raises questions about unregulated advisers.
What happens next: Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry says it is working with its High Commission in Wellington and the New Zealand authorities to help her return, but no solution has been announced yet.
The journey that brought her here
Ranasingha left Sri Lanka in 2018. She had run a small T-shirt factory, but she was forced to close it after losing business, and she was struggling to repay loans. She moved to Hong Kong, where she worked as a domestic caregiver. Her brother told BBC Sinhala she was under immense financial pressure, and that her husband, who had struggled with drug addiction, had died about seven years ago.
In December 2022, she travelled to New Zealand on a two-month visit visa to live with a cousin. As that visa came close to expiring, she says an immigration interpreter helped her apply for asylum, saying she faced threats from lenders back in Sri Lanka. She was granted an asylum seeker open work visa, letting her work for almost any employer. She found a job at a restaurant, which agreed to sponsor her for an employment visa.
In New Zealand, asylum seekers generally cannot apply for other kinds of visas while their claims are being processed, so her employment visa application was declined. She had a job and a willing sponsor, but the rules did not allow her to switch visas while her claim was still open.
The advice that changed everything
It was then that Ranasingha turned to a firm called Immigration and Secretarial Services. She says the firm told her a fresh employment visa application could be made from overseas. Emails seen by the BBC show the firm’s manager, Sylviane Gallant, saying she would start the process once Ranasingha had left New Zealand. So Ranasingha booked a short stay in the Cook Islands, a group of islands about four hours by air from Auckland, while the application was made.
It was a disastrous decision. Her employment visa was refused again, and by leaving New Zealand she had broken the terms of her existing visa. The authorities made it clear they would not grant her any future visas. Gallant said she had written to politicians, including Chris Penk, then New Zealand’s immigration minister, on her behalf. But in the end, Ranasingha says, Gallant admitted the situation was her fault and said there was nothing more she could do. “She told me I was better off going home. There was nothing holding me there so I agreed to go,” Ranasingha said. The BBC said it reached out to Gallant but did not receive a response.
Auckland-based immigration law specialist Alastair McClymont told the BBC that Ranasingha had received “terrible advice” which “certainly” could not have come from a genuine immigration lawyer. He pointed to an industry of so-called immigration consultants who charge people to lodge applications without fully understanding the risks. Ranasingha says she has paid the firm thousands of New Zealand dollars in fees. The lesson is harsh: leaving a country can end a visa and close off a claim, in ways that cannot easily be undone.
A closed loop with no way out
When Ranasingha decided to go home, she went to the airport with an Air New Zealand ticket to Sri Lanka in her hand. She was told she could not board the flight without a New Zealand transit visa, because her flight from Rarotonga to Sri Lanka passes through Auckland, and she needed permission simply to change planes there.
Three applications for a New Zealand transit visa were rejected. Immigration New Zealand told the BBC all were declined because officials were “not satisfied she has a genuine intention to transit through New Zealand”. Four Australian applications were rejected too. New Zealand suggested she explore other routes. But the only other destinations she can fly to are Tahiti, in French Polynesia, and Hawaii, in the United States. Both told her she would need to provide biometric information before any visa could be processed, and that could only be done in person in New Zealand. Her latest application, which set out the routes she had tried, her son’s wedding and her mother’s failing health, was also rejected.
“I have lost so much money on tickets. For almost four years I have been just applying for visa after visa with nothing working out,” she said, breaking down.
The Cook Islands government has tried to help. Chere Arthur, the Cook Islands’ principal immigration officer, said in October that her government had tried to facilitate her departure, and that in April 2025 she had offered Immigration New Zealand an escort to Auckland Airport. That offer was declined. Arthur said she remains there not because departure options have not been explored, but because of the difficulty of obtaining the transit visas needed to travel onward.
Why the rules work this way
To understand why Ranasingha cannot simply change planes in Auckland, it helps to understand what a transit visa is. Under New Zealand’s rules, a transit passenger passes through Auckland International Airport, stays in its transit area for less than 24 hours, and does not enter New Zealand. Only Auckland has a transit area.
Applicants must show they genuinely intend only to transit through New Zealand, and provide evidence of their travel arrangements and a statement explaining their journey. They must also meet good character requirements.
This is where her earlier asylum claim works against her. McClymont explained that New Zealand’s authorities are unlikely to grant her a transit visa because, as far as they are concerned, she has no intention of returning to Sri Lanka, having made an asylum claim saying her life was in danger there. In other words, the claim she made when she feared returning home is now read as evidence that she does not really want to go home.
When the BBC asked why a transit visa could not be granted even though she had offered to travel handcuffed and escorted, a representative of the immigration minister’s office said those measures do not stop a person making an asylum claim. McClymont said New Zealand co-ordinates with Australia, and France and the US are likely to reach similar conclusions. “She is going to have to transit through somewhere and no one will want to take the risk,” he said.
Life on a beautiful island she cannot leave
The Cook Islands are a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand, made up of 15 islands spread across the South Pacific. The total land area is only about 237 square kilometres, with a population of about 15,000. Most people live on Rarotonga, where the capital, Avarua, and the main international airport are.
Ranasingha says she is luckier than others in her position. The hotel where she had stayed has let her live free of charge in its staff accommodation, and local people have provided her with food and clothing. One hotel director even gave her a sewing machine, letting her earn a small income. “My mother always tells me I must have done something good, for me to be in a place like this where people have been so kind to me,” she told the BBC.
But kindness does not ease the sense of being trapped. Ranasingha says the stress is affecting her health. “I am scared something is going to happen to me,” she said. Her brother, speaking to BBC Sinhala, said her mental state is not good. He said she once told him that if the authorities would not get her back home alive, they might at least bring her body home, a remark born of despair that shows how heavy three years of waiting has become. Anyone struggling with feelings of despair can find confidential support through Befrienders Worldwide, which lists helplines around the world.
What could still unlock the door
There are a few ways this could be resolved. The most direct would be for New Zealand to grant a transit visa as a special case, with an escort and a guarantee that she would be put straight onto her onward flight. The Cook Islands has already offered to provide an escort to Auckland Airport, an offer made in April 2025 and declined. A fresh offer, backed by Sri Lanka’s government, might be looked at differently now that the case has received public attention.
A second possibility is diplomatic. Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry told the BBC it was “taking all necessary steps to facilitate her return”, and that its High Commission in Wellington is working with the New Zealand authorities on the matter. If the two governments agree on a supervised transit, with Sri Lanka confirming it will receive her, the risk New Zealand fears would be much reduced.
What is clear is that doing nothing is not a neutral choice. Every month that passes is another month away from her son, her mother and her home.
What other travellers can learn from this
Ranasingha’s story carries a warning for anyone dealing with visas and immigration. First, never leave a country on an unregulated adviser’s say-so without checking what it will do to your visa: leaving can end a visa or a claim, and there may be no way back. Second, always check whether you need a transit visa, not just a visa for your final destination. Many travellers only discover the transit rule at the airport. Third, use a licensed immigration adviser or lawyer, and be wary of anyone promising an easy way around the rules.
For governments, the case raises a harder question. Transit rules exist for good reasons, but when they leave a person with no lawful way to go home, the system needs a safety valve, such as an escorted transit or a government-to-government agreement.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Ruchira Ranasingha?
Ruchira Ranasingha is a 50-year-old woman from Sri Lanka who has been stranded in the Cook Islands since 2023. She left Sri Lanka in 2018, worked in Hong Kong, and travelled to New Zealand in December 2022, where she applied for asylum. She went to the Cook Islands in 2023 on advice that she could apply for a New Zealand work visa from overseas, but the plan failed.
Why can she not fly home to Sri Lanka?
Every flight out stops in another country first, and she needs permission to pass through. New Zealand has refused three of her transit visa applications and Australia has refused four. Tahiti and Hawaii, the other possible routes, require biometric details given in person in New Zealand.
Why does New Zealand not believe she wants to go home?
Immigration New Zealand said it was “not satisfied she has a genuine intention to transit through New Zealand”. An immigration lawyer explained that her earlier asylum claim, saying her life was in danger in Sri Lanka, makes officials doubt she truly intends to return. The authorities also fear she could make a new asylum claim if she lands in Auckland, even handcuffed and escorted.
What is a transit visa?
A transit visa lets a traveller pass through a country on the way to somewhere else, without entering it. In New Zealand, a transit passenger must travel through Auckland International Airport, stay in the airport’s transit area for less than 24 hours, and show evidence of onward travel and a genuine intention to transit only.
How has she survived in the Cook Islands for three years?
Ranasingha says the hotel where she stayed has let her live free of charge in its staff accommodation, and local people have given her food and clothing. A hotel director gave her a sewing machine, which lets her earn a small income. She says local kindness has helped, but the stress of being trapped is affecting her health.
What is being done to help her?
Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry says it is taking all necessary steps to help her return, with its High Commission in Wellington working with the New Zealand authorities. The Cook Islands government has also tried to help: in April 2025 its principal immigration officer offered to escort her to Auckland Airport, but New Zealand declined.
Conclusion
Ranasingha went to New Zealand hoping to build a stable life, pay off her debts and support her family. Instead, a piece of bad advice left her stranded on a beautiful Pacific island, unable to go forward and unable to go home. She has a ticket, a family waiting for her, and a son getting married in November. What she lacks is a piece of paper that would let her change planes in Auckland.
Her case is unusual, but the lesson is general: when a person falls outside the rules, someone needs the power to make an exception. Until one of those governments finds a way to get her home, she will remain a guest in a place that has treated her kindly, waiting for a door to open.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://vidianews.com/news/12844-i-ve-been-stuck-on-a-tiny-pacific-island-for-years-and-can-t-get-a-transit-visa (BBC News report, 31 October 2026)
- https://news.ssbcrack.com/immigration-new-zealand-denies-transit-visa-to-woman-stuck-in-cook-islands/ (SSBCrack News, 25 October 2026)
- https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/transit-visa/ (Immigration New Zealand, Transit Visa)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands (Wikipedia, Cook Islands)
