The biometric capturing for new passports, which revises the passport issuance process, will be launched by the Immigration and Emigration Department today, local media reported. From today, applicants will have to fill in a new simplified form and call over personally at the head office or regional offices to submit their biometric readings, including fingerprints to be stored to issue a new passport. Only 200 accredited studios island-wide can take pictures for the new travel document at present. The department will not issue a biometric passport until the present stock of old N series passports are exhausted. It is to take about two years to issue a biometric passport carrying the biometric data of the holder. The system will be in place and the data will be stored for use in an emergency. The biometric capturing will make it hard to impersonate and forge documents, it is reported. The project almost entirely funded by the Australian government and executed through the IOM is part of a strategy to minimise illegal overseas travel, reports say.
A Thai woman walking topless in Arugam Bay town has been arrested by the Police.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for Sri Lankans overseas to apply for their passports through an online system via the Lankan diplomatic missions.
Cabinet has approved the appointment of Commodore (retired) M.B.N.A. Premaratne of the Sri Lanka Navy, as the new Commissioner General of Excise.
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