Case of woman stuck in Cook Islands may be hot to handle, immigration lawyer says

An immigration lawyer says a woman stuck in the Cook Islands for three years is a case which may be "too hot to handle" for decision-makers.Immigration New Zealand will not allow her to travel here because it doubts her stated intention to fly straight to her home country, which is reportedly in south Asia.The 49-year-old woman told the Cook Islands News her situation was a psychological nightmare.Despite assistance from Cook Islands Immigration, neither New Zealand nor Australia has approved a transit visa for her return home.Cook Islands principal immigration officer Chere Arthur wrote to Immigration New Zealand on 11 April 2025, offering assistance by having someone escort the South Asian national to Auckland Airport until she boarded her connecting flight to Singapore.Richard Small, who is not the woman's lawyer, said his practice had dealt with similar cases.He said Immigration seemed to fear she would claim asylum when she landed in New Zealand, because she had before."Here there is a suggestion of a past refugee claim and that would have triggered all kinds of alarm bells, unfortunately those alarm bells can drown out the individuals circumstances of the case."Small said one solution might be forcing her to staying under detention at the airport.