Sri Lanka decides to continue on-arrival visa system amid court order

Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles announced that the on-arrival visa issuance system will continue until a judicial solution is reached regarding the visa process.

He noted that 12 additional visa counters have been added at the airport to facilitate this system.

The Minister made these statements during a media briefing on Monday (September 09) at the Ministry of Public Security.

He explained that queues form at the visa counters when several flights arrive simultaneously, and to alleviate this, 12 new counters have been established in addition to the existing ones.

Minister Alles also mentioned that, due to a court order halting the visa issuance process through VFS Global, visas will now be issued for 30 or 60 days upon the arrival of foreigners.

He noted that last month, when visas were issued through VFS Global, around 189,000 tourists arrived, and many hotel business owners have expressed concerns over the suspension of this system. He added that they will clarify matters before the court regarding the judicial order.

Additionally, Minister Alles alleged that a ‘mafia’ was operating behind the recent long queues for passports at the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

He made this statement in response to accusations from National People’s Power (NPP) parliamentarian Vijitha Herath.

Long queues had been observed at the Immigration Department’s offices due to a shortage of new blank passports. During a press conference held on Monday (September 9), the NPP accused the government of mishandling the passport issuance process.

However, Minister Alles clarified during the briefing that the queues were not caused by a passport shortage.

He explained that online appointment slots, available for booking at midnight, are quickly taken by a group using over 100 SIM cards. These slots are then sold to people for around Rs. 45,000.

“When I found out about it, I immediately asked to halt the online system and to let them come into the queue. But then the queues didn’t end,” he said. He further explained that some individuals wait in the queue and then sell their spot for Rs. 20,000 or Rs. 25,000.

“After that, I decided to ask the police to take over the queues, and they were instructed on how to manage it. Since then, the queues are over by 10:30 – 11:30,” the Minister added.

Minister Alles also refuted reports claiming that a group of officials from the Immigration Department traveled to Poland to investigate the production process of the new passports.

“They said the immigration bosses went to Poland because of the passport problem. These are blatant lies. Now the passport chief is here with me,” he said.