Sri Lankan woman stranded in Cook Islands for three years

A 49-year-old Sri Lankan woman has been stranded in the Cook Islands for nearly three years after being denied transit visas by New Zealand and Australia. The woman, who reportedly left Sri Lanka in early 2023 following the alleged killing of her husband, originally traveled to New Zealand to seek asylum. Following legal advice to temporarily leave New Zealand, she traveled to the Cook Islands but has since been unable to secure passage home.

Immigration New Zealand confirmed that multiple transit visa applications were rejected because authorities were not satisfied that she genuinely intended to transit through the country. While the Cook Islands government offered to escort her through Auckland Airport to a connecting flight to Singapore, the arrangement has not been successful. Australia has also denied her transit visa applications, and attempts to arrange travel through Tahiti have failed.

The woman has described her situation as a “psychological nightmare” and has expressed extreme desperation to return to her family, even offering to be handcuffed or detained if it would facilitate her transport home.