Sri Lankan missions are being deprived of their ability to award several sorts of visas
An official said that with the launch of online applications, overseas Sri Lankan missions are being deprived of their ability to award several sorts of visas for foreign citizens, including resident visas.
Foreign nationals planning to visit Sri Lanka can now apply for visas online. As a result, Sri Lankan missions will lose their ability to accept documents and provide many visas.
With VFS Global handling applications, the Sri Lanka Department of Immigration and Emigration maintains the exclusive right to grant visas. When questioned about this matter, Controller General of Immigration & Emigration I.S.H.J. Ilukpitiya stated that no foreign individual must visit the closest Sri Lankan mission to apply for a visa.
Anyone can complete it online. Right now, the missions are allowed to take applications for resident visas. We are going to launch an online resident visa application system shortly. Therefore, the missions will no longer be able to accept paperwork for resident visas, he added.
The Immigrants & Emigrants Act, Number Twenty of 1948, gives the Department of Immigration and Emigration the authority to issue, deny, or approve visas.
VFS Global receives only the necessary paperwork for applicants’ online visa approval and forwards it to the government.
