Lee Li (she/her), who fled China at 16 and sought asylum in New Zealand shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, says current immigration rules prevent her from travelling to Tahiti to represent Fearlessli, a film about her own journey that is gaining significant recognition, as reported by Mildred Armah of Stuff.
Li told Stuff she left China to escape a culture where gender expression was tightly policed. Official directives banned “effeminate behaviour” in men, she said, forcing her to “hide myself because I didn’t want to be bullied or punished”.
Her film, produced through the government-backed Day One Shorts programme, premiered at the Show Me Shorts Festival last month and has now been selected for competition at the prominent FIFO International Documentary Film Festival early next year. “The film is called Fearlessli, because ever since I landed here [in New Zealand], I felt I could live authentically and fearlessly,” she said, Stuff has quoted.
But New Zealand law prevents asylum seekers from leaving the country while their claim is being assessed, as doing so results in the claim being deemed withdrawn. With no recognised immigration status and no travel document that reflects her affirmed name and gender, Li says she cannot travel to represent the film, Mildred Armah of Stuff has reported.
Li submitted her asylum application in March 2024. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) says it aims to finalise 75% of refugee and protection claims within 240 days from allocation to an officer. Li said she has been waiting more than 20 months and is unsure whether her case has even been assigned yet. “It’s such a long wait, which has taken a toll on my mental health,” she said, as quoted by Stuff.
“I’m struggling, living in anxiety because it’s like I don’t even exist in this world. The wait is also accumulating fear because I don't know what my future will be, all I can do is just wait. I’m feeling hopeless, which is re-triggering my trauma,” Stuff has quoted.
The lack of appropriate travel documents adds another barrier. “My Chinese passport has a different name and most importantly, a different gender… I would have to change my appearance just to pass borders,” she said.
Li has asked INZ to prioritise her claim and has sought permission to travel with a Certificate of Identity, which can be issued to non-citizens who cannot obtain passports from their home country.
In a written statement, Greig Young, head of operations at the Refugee Status Unit, said INZ “recognise this is a distressing situation for Lee Li and empathise with her”, but confirmed that her case remains under standard processing.
Young said global migration pressures continue to impact processing times. “As at October 31, 2025, there were 3907 undecided refugee and protection claims,” he said. He also noted the Immigration Act does not allow exceptions for overseas travel and that prioritisation requests are assessed case by case, as reported by Mildred Armah of Stuff.
Adrian Jarvis, general manager of services and access at the Department of Internal Affairs, said the department cannot issue Li a travel document in her affirmed name while her immigration status is unresolved. Legal name changes require “official evidence”, which only people entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely can provide.
Li hopes her case will be resolved before February. “I’d be attending the film festival to represent New Zealand, it’s not a holiday,” she said. “But if I can’t go, I hope the film can travel far, even if I cannot,” Mildred Armah of Stuff has reported.