• Vijitha Herath confirms tourist visa overstayers running businesses sending children to preschools, violating traffic laws  
• Police urges landlords & hotels to report overstaying tourists

The country has seen a number of cases of tourists on tourist visas starting businesses such as lodgings, shops and restaurants as complaints against overstaying tourists grow, the authorities confirmed.

“We see a number of cases of tourists arriving on tourist visas and overstaying,” Cabinet Spokesperson and Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath told the media yesterday (29).  “Several of them conduct various activities, both legal and illegal, and we see many of them starting businesses.”

Herath said that several of the tourists stay so long as to obtain vehicles in the country and send their children to preschool whilst still being on tourist visas.

“Several of them have committed traffic offences and we have observed that they even don’t wear helmets when going in motorcycles, which is contrary to the law,” Herath said.

Police Media Spokesperson, Deputy Inspector General of Police Nihal Thalduwa noted that several foreigners have been caught overstaying their visa and hence asked the public to be vigilant.

It was reported that locals and businesses along the Eastern and Southern coasts have voiced displeasure on unlicensed foreign owned businesses, particularly illegal shops and lodgings in places popular with tourists such as Weligama, Galle, and Mirissa.

In response to the overstaying tourists, the authorities encourage locals as well as hotels to report overstaying tourists with reminders being sent in this regard, every month, to hotels and other tourism establishments.