Sri Lanka to operate immigration department 24/7 to speed up passport issuance

The Sri Lankan government has decided to keep the Department of Immigration and Emigration operational 24/7 to eliminate delays in issuing passports.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the recruitment of additional staff to accelerate passport printing. Accordingly, the government has planned to issue 4,000 passports per day by extending the department’s operations around the clock, Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa stated.

Speaking at today’s (February 5) Cabinet press conference, Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa mentioned that, based on the recommendations of an expert committee appointed by the Cabinet, steps are being taken to address the ongoing passport shortage.

As part of this effort, the procurement process has commenced to supply 1,100,000 chip-less blank “P” category passports from the designated supplier.

To support this initiative, the Cabinet has approved a proposal by Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala to recruit additional staff.

This will be done by re-employing retired officers of the Department of Immigration and Emigration on a contract basis with the approval of the Public Service Commission.

Additionally, government officers will be assigned to the department with the consent of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Governments.