Visa issuance delay at BIA could be act of ‘sabotage’ - Harin

Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando says that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee to look into the preparation of the national visa policy.
 
Addressing the media today, the Tourism Minister said he suspects that the on-arrival visa issuance delay at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Thursday (May 02) could be an act of sabotage.

Furthermore, he expressed that the officials of the Department of Immigration and Emigration have failed to provide necessary facilities for the private company to which visa-issuance operations were handed over.

Commenting further regarding the matter, Minister Fernando also mentioned that ‘VFS Global’ has a higher reach due to their global operations in visa issuance activities and that the support of the entity can be obtained for promotional services. 

In response to a question raised by a journalist whether the visa fee for Sri Lanka will be reduced, the Tourism Minister pointed out that it will be decided through a committee being appointed by the President to look into the preparation of the national visa policy. 

“The only other solution I see is granting free visa to the top 67 countries”, he added.