Two New Zealand tourists were yesterday held at an immigration station in Siem Reap awaiting deportation after they refused to pay a fine for overstaying in Cambodia for nearly a year after their visa expired, according to police.

Siem Reap provincial police deputy chief Chao Mao Vireak said the women were located last Tuesday at a guesthouse in Siem Reap called Asia Happy.

Hariata Andree Brison, 27, and Ann Lizzie Miriama Tangihaere, 37, were asked to pay an undisclosed fine for overstaying their visas, but the women said they didn’t have enough money and wanted to return to their country.

“They came to visit Cambodia for tourism, and they overstayed in Siem Reap for nearly one year,” Vireak said, adding that officials were waiting for documents from the New Zealand Embassy to deport the pair.

In 2015, there were a total of 4,424 foreigners arrested and deported from Cambodia, according to the Ministry of Interior. They represented 49 nationalities, with 3,978 from Vietnam.

The New Zealand Embassy in Thailand could not be reached for comment.