--- description: Authorities rejected the asylum applications of 7 refugees who took in Edward Snowden for two weeks in 2013, before he headed to Moscow. title: Hong Kong Rejects Asylum Claims of Refugees Who Hid Snowden image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt093c94bdb963a511/6988cd3786f68ee2556e4b04/gettyimages-683180668.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Hong Kong](/tag/hong-kong/) ## Hong Kong Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Refugees who Sheltered Edward Snowden in Hong Kong Have Had Their Asylum Applications Rejected by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:09 AM CUTPublished: May 15, 2017 9:25 AM CUT  Sri Lankan refugee Ajith Puspa (back L), Filipino refugee Vanessa Rodel (back 2nd L), her daughter Keana (front L), Sri Lankan refugee Nadeeka (back 3rd L), her partner Supun Thilina Kellapatha and their children, son Danath (front C) and daughter Sethumdi (front R), outside the Immigration Tower in Hong Kong, May 15, 2017. Sri Lankan refugee Ajith Puspa (back L), Filipino refugee Vanessa Rodel (back 2nd L), her daughter Keana (front L), Sri Lankan refugee Nadeeka (back 3rd L), her partner Supun Thilina Kellapatha and their children, son Danath (front C) and daughter Sethumdi (front R), outside the Immigration Tower in Hong Kong, May 15, 2017.Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:09 AM CUTPublished: May 15, 2017 9:25 AM CUT The asylum seekers who bravely took in [NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden](http://world.time.com/2013/06/25/snowdens-hong-kong-escape-what-role-did-beijing-play/ "undefined") and gave him shelter in their humble dwellings, while he was on the run in Hong Kong in 2013, have had their applications rejected. Immigration authorities issued the decision on Thursday and informed the group of seven on Friday, according to Robert Tibbo, an attorney representing them. “I’m really upset” said Philippine national Vanessa Rodel, one of the seven applicants tells TIME. “I’m very afraid, I’m worrying a lot. In Hong Kong, once your case is rejected, you’re not allowed to stay.” Rodel said she feared being detained and separated from her young, Hong Kong-born daughter. “The government’s decision to reject our clients’ claims is completely consistent with the effective zero acceptance rate \[of asylum seekers\] in Hong Kong,” Tibbo tells TIME, calling the decision “completely unreasonable.” He says authorities only gave each of the seven refugees “brief screening interviews” and, in Rodel’s case, only conducted screening in writing. **Read More:** [_Living Without an Identity: The ‘Heartbreaking’ Plight of Undocumented Children in Hong Kong_](http://time.com/4637218/hong-kong-stateless-children-domestic-workers/ "undefined") Details of how Snowden managed to lay low in the Asian metropolis had remained obscure until last year, when the asylum seekers’ role came to light in Oliver Stone’s movie [_Snowden_](http://time.com/4494769/oliver-stones-snowden-lacks-a-pulse/ "undefined"), and the details were [disclosed](http://news.nationalpost.com/features/how-edward-snowden-escaped-hong-kong "undefined") in Canada’s _National Post_. (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who played Snowden in the movie, has [appealed for help](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2040630/actor-who-played-edward-snowden-makes-video-appeal-help-hong "undefined") on the asylum seekers’ behalf.) [Three other adult applicants](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094351/hong-kong-rejects-asylum-seekers-who-sheltered-edward "undefined") are from Sri Lanka. Two of the three children involved are stateless. The group [turned to Canada](http://time.com/4697695/edward-snowden-refugees-seeking-asylum/ "undefined") to seek asylum earlier this year, citing grave risks if their stay in Hong Kong was prolonged. At the time, two of the Sri Lankans reported of being pursued by police from Sri Lanka. Hong Kong’s rejection of the group “puts them in an even more vulnerable position, and triggers a need for urgent protection,” says Marc-André Séguin, one of the Canadian attorneys representing the group in the country. “We’re confident that the Canadian government will come to the same conclusion.” “Three weeks ago, we heard from Canadian authorities that the files have been transferred from Canada to the visa office of the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong,” Séguin added. **_Update:_** In an email responding to TIME’s request for comment, a representative from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) writes that the agency “never confirms or denies whether we have received a refugee application” for privacy reasons. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4778711/edward-snowden-hong-kong-asylum-refugees/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4778711/edward-snowden-hong-kong-asylum-refugees/"},"headline":"The Refugees who Sheltered Edward Snowden in Hong Kong Have Had Their Asylum Applications Rejected","datePublished":"2017-05-15T09:25:04.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T08:09:44.000Z","description":"The former NSA contractor hid in the territory for two weeks in 2013 before heading to Moscow","url":"https://time.com/4778711/edward-snowden-hong-kong-asylum-refugees/","keywords":["Hong Kong","Hong Kong topic","Edward Snowden","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt093c94bdb963a511/6988cd3786f68ee2556e4b04/gettyimages-683180668.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt093c94bdb963a511/6988cd3786f68ee2556e4b04/gettyimages-683180668.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HONG KONG-CANADA-US-POLITICS-SOCIAL-SNOWDEN-REFUGEES","caption":"HONG KONG-CANADA-US-POLITICS-SOCIAL-SNOWDEN-REFUGEES","creditText":"Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hong-kong/","name":"Hong Kong"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4778711/edward-snowden-hong-kong-asylum-refugees/","name":"The Refugees who Sheltered Edward Snowden in Hong Kong Have Had Their Asylum Applications Rejected"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Edward Snowden Calls For Fair Laws For Whistleblowers","description":"National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden says it would “chill speech” and “erode the quality of our democracy” if he serves a long prison term in the U.S.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/TEAwdnjt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-14T17:12:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TEAwdnjt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4778711/edward-snowden-hong-kong-asylum-refugees/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4778711/edward-snowden-hong-kong-asylum-refugees/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```