Two sisters of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea heritage entered Papua New Guinea with their Papua New Guinean mother in 2019 on Solomon Islands passports. After their mother died, they faced deportation following a public appeal by their biological father, a Solomon Islands national. The Ombudsman Commission inquired into their citizenship status and legal custody with the Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Authority.
The matter was complex and required coordination across both countries, with the girls’ best interests as the guiding concern. The Commission provided oversight of their welfare while they remained minors and worked with the Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Authority, the Solomon Islands High Commission, the Transnational Crime Unit, the Office of Welfare and Child Services, and counterpart agencies in the Solomon Islands.
As a result of the Ombudsman Commission’s intervention, the Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Authority granted both sisters Papua New Guinea citizenship. They were issued Papua New Guinea passports and may remain in the country lawfully as citizens, ending years of legal uncertainty and the threat of deportation.