Woman Stranded for Years on Pacific Island Unable to Secure Transit Home

On an archipelago known for its sweeping sandy beaches and rugged volcanic peaks, just four hours from Auckland, Ranasingha has remained an involuntary resident for years.

She says she is luckier than others in her position. Her hotel has allowed her to stay free of charge in staff accommodation, and friendly locals have provided her with food and clothing.

One of the hotel directors even gave her a sewing machine, she says, enabling her to 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.

Yet that does little to 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.

“I don’t know what her solution is, to be honest,” says Alastair McClymont, an Auckland-based immigration law specialist.

She had received “terrible advice” that “certainly” could not have come from a genuine immigration lawyer, he says, pointing to an industry of “so-called immigration consultants” who charge people to lodge applications without fully understanding the risks involved. Ranasingha says she has paid thousands of New Zealand dollars in fees to Immigration & Secretarial Services.

The BBC reached out to Gallant but did not receive a response.

McClymont suggests New Zealand authorities will not grant the transit visa because, as far as they are concerned, she has no intention of returning to Sri Lanka after making an asylum claim stating her life was in danger there.

New Zealand coordinates with its neighbour Australia, meaning it is unlikely to let her transit either, he says, and France and the United States are likely to reach similar conclusions.

To leave, “she is going to have to transit through somewhere and no-one will want to take the risk,” he added.

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