New Minister of Investment Promotion Dhammika Perera has announced 06 key decisions pertaining to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Minister paid an inspection visit to the Department’s head office in Battaramulla to look into the difficulties related to passports faced by the public.
6 key decisions:
- A separate counter to expeditiously issue passports for Sri Lankans travelling overseas for employment. Passports will be issued to those who have completed the necessary documentation. The counter has been opened at the passport office at the Department’s office in Battaramulla. Those eligible need not stand in the regular queue and can obtain their passports via the special counter.
- ‘One day’ Service for the issuing of Passports to commence in three more districts from Monday (04). The One-day service for passports will be commenced in the Department of Immigration and Emigration’s branch offices in Matara, Kandy, and Vavuniya.
- Minister Perera provides solution with own funds for issues relating to passport photographs. The uploading of a high number of passport images had caused a technical error on the server used by the department. Minister Dhammika Perera has provided Rs. 900,000 out of his own funds to provide a new server on a temporary basis for the department to resolve the issues.
- Daily summary of tourist arrivals: The department will update the summary of the total number of tourist arrivals for the day on the following morning via Twitter. The measure has been taken to keep the tourism sector informed of the tourists visiting the country and any related information.
- Implementation of the Golden Paradise Program : A delay has been reported on the implementation of the Golden Paradise Program that was proposed by the Minister prior to his appointment. The delay is due to the lack of system to receive foreign exchange as the Central Bank is yet to issue instructions to Commercial Banks in this regard. Minister Perera has assured to resolve the issue by holding discussions with Central bank officials soon.
- The one-year residence visa for non- Sri Lankans marrying a local to be extended. The spouse visa issued to non- Sri Lankans marrying Sri lankan residents will be extended to 5 years. The visa extension will be implemented from Monday (04)
