News
AG to file motion in SC to explain issues in Immigration Department reverting to SLTMobitel ETA system
View(s):By Namini Wijedasa
The Attorney General will file a motion in the Supreme Court requesting a date to explain matters that hinder the Department of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) from reverting to the SLTMobitel-run electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system that was in operation before a disputed e-visa mechanism was introduced on April 16, said Public Security Minister Tiran Alles.
Meanwhile, major travel and tourism associations have cautioned President Ranil Wickremesinghe that many potential Sri Lankan bookings are likely to be diverted to other destinations as a result of the DIE failing to restore the ETA.
As the visa stalemate continues, Tourism Ministry Secretary Somarathne Vidanapathirana also forwarded to Public Security Ministry Secretary Viyani Gunathilake a copy of the associations’ appeal to the President, requesting his intervention in issuing visas to foreign tourists “without any trouble” through the previous online and on-arrival methods.
The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism, the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference Exhibition & Event Organisers, the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance and the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association pointed out to President Wickremesinghe that visitors presently have just one method of obtaining a visa, namely on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport. They said this was “not preferred by travellers.” The DIE has even blocked the issuance of tourist and business visas through Sri Lanka’s missions abroad.
President Wickremesinghe holds the tourism portfolio after Harin Fernando, the former Minister, lost his parliamentary seat through a Supreme Court ruling. Mr. Fernando is now Honorary Adviser to the President on Tourism, Land, Sports and Youth Affairs.
The Sunday Times saw a copy of the letter sent to the Public Security Ministry Secretary by his Tourism Ministry counterpart, along with its attachment. The six industry associations stress that the peak season booking window will start in two weeks and their overseas partners have warned of severe impact on Sri Lankan bookings for this winter.
“With competing destinations offering streamlined processes and zero cost, many potential Sri Lanka bookings are likely to be diverted due to the Immigration delay,” they say. They plead that the tourism industry is “only just starting to lift its head after several poor years, and it is critical that the next high season is not impaired by the delay in activating the online system.” Arrival numbers and revenue targets envisaged for the remainder of 2024 “will not be achieved due to the present situation.”
The DIE’s failure to restore the ETA after shutting down the e-visa system introduced on April 16 this year contravenes a Supreme Court order of August 2. The Court suspended a Cabinet decision that had cleared the DIE to enter into an outsource agreement with a three-member foreign consortium to process online visas. Eight petitions are now being heard in the SC on grounds that the deal was reached outside of the procurement procedure, causing a financial loss to Sri Lanka and severely eroding tourism.
The Court also directed the DIE and other respondents to revert to the ETA. But Minister Tiran Alles reiterated yesterday that the ETA cannot be brought back without making sweeping adjustments to the DIE’s backend which was recently upgraded and is maintained by another private sector company called Informatics International (Ltd).
The outsource agreement was signed in August 2023 between the DIE and three parties: the Singapore-registered GBS Technology Services, the UAE-registered IVS Global-FZCO and the Dubai-headquartered VFS VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd.
The active SLTMobitel contract for ETAs was abruptly ordered to be halted in April 2024 and the new system—under which an additional number of visa categories gazetted in November 2023 was being processed—came into operation till it was suspended earlier this month.
“Immigration has changed the entire backend in keeping with the approval that Parliament granted for new visa categories which were then gazetted,” Minister Alles told TST. “Now the backend is like that. We told Mobitel to start even tomorrow (ETA). They can’t do anything with their platform but they want us to change the entire immigration system. That is the issue.”
The Minister insisted that Parliament would have to pass a fresh regulation allowing the DIE to go back to the previous arrangement which had fewer visa categories.
Meanwhile, Mobitel has written to the Controller General of Immigration (CGI) reinforcing that the ETA can be restored immediately provided he permits the DIE to activate several backend links that would allow it to go online. The CGI has not done this.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!