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Agreements with visa companies to continue despite controversy
View(s):Public Security Ministry says implementation from next week after technical faults are corrected
The delays and issues with the system were a “technical fault”. “Next week, we will implement it,” he said, declining to give a date.
Controversy erupted this week after video clips were published on social media of an incoming passenger at Bandaranaike International Airport alleging that “Indian” staff handling Sri Lanka’s immigration had refused his foreign wife a visa.
It was later revealed that the Public Security Ministry, under which the Department of Immigration and Emigration falls, had outsourced visa processing to GBS Technology Services and IVS Global-FZCO with VFS as the technology partner.
This replaced the former electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system that had functioned problem-free for several years.
The shift to the new system, which the travel industry said took them unawares, comes at a cost. While visa fees were also revised recently to US$ 75 (and US$ 35 for SAARC countries), additional service and convenience fees brought about by outsourcing visa issuance have pushed the cost above US$ 100 per visitor.
Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said this week that he was taken unawares by the change and that it was ill-timed. A senior official from the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority said they were still pushing for 30-day single-entry visa.
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