• Immigration and Emigration officers warn of inability to address high demand

Immigration and Emigration officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) have raised concerns that inadequate infrastructure is causing significant delays during peak hours, despite a Cabinet decision to grant free visas to 38 countries.

This measure, intended to reduce queues following the suspension of the online visa portal due to the ongoing VFS visa controversy, has yet to alleviate the pressure. Officers have warned that without sufficient facilities, the free visa policy may fall short in addressing the high demand, especially at a time when legal proceedings regarding the VFS issue are still pending in the Supreme Court.

As a result, Trade Unions (TUs) representing Immigration and Emigration officers have alleged that the long queues at the airport will persist until a proper solution is implemented to resolve the issues with the online visa system.

Shortage of Immigration officers

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Officers’ Association (SLIEOA) President Jayantha Ratnayake said: “Long queues continue at the BIA. A leading businessman mentioned that one of his clients had waited at the airport for two hours, while another person had waited for three hours. Many passengers are experiencing similar delays.”

He stressed that the primary reason the free visa issuance policy had not resolved the long queues was the shortage of Immigration officers.

Ratnayake further explained: “There are around 100 immigration officers at the BIA. Also, there are 75 vacancies for immediate supervising officers, who are the chief immigration officers. Currently, only 15-25 supervising officers are working at the airport, leading to the formation of these long queues. 

“Previously, passengers entered Sri Lanka with online visas. Now, without the online portal, everyone must obtain their visa at the airport. When 100 passengers arrive on a plane, all of them have to join the queues. With online visas, only 30-50% of passengers would need to do this. Now, every passenger is forced to get their visa on arrival and the shortage of supervising officers is causing delays.”

Loss of foreign exchange

In addition to the shortage, Ratnayake pointed out that free visa issuance resulted in Sri Lanka losing millions in direct foreign exchange, which would have otherwise come to the country.

“We are losing a huge amount of foreign exchange. We have been practising visa issuance since 2012 and with 2.3 million tourists in 2023. If we are to go ahead with free visa issuance to attract more tourists, it has to be done scientifically. We must expand immigration facilities at the airport and seaport as well as Customs facilities. At present, we can’t even cope with two or three aircraft landing simultaneously,” he stressed.

Elaborating further, Ratnayake said that the unavailability of the online visa issuance mechanism could discourage high-end passengers.

Critical positions vacant 

According to the latest report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the department’s approved cadre was 1,292 as of 31 December 2022, while the actual number of staff was 1,040. This has left 275 vacancies and 23 excess employees. All approved posts for operations assistants and rest house assistants are yet to be filled.

In response, the department noted that it had sought approval from the Department of Management Services to incorporate 24 officers appointed as Development Officers in 2022. 

These officers had been previously attached to the department as graduate apprentices between 2020 and 2022. Due to a suspension of new recruitments, hiring for operations assistants and rest house assistants had been temporarily halted, as outlined in Management Services Circular No.02/2020 of 26 October 2020.

The report also highlighted the longstanding vacancy of a critical executive position: the Immigration and Emigration Controller (Investigations and Operations). This role, which requires seven years of experience as a Grade II executive, thus remains unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates.

Meanwhile, according to Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) statistics, from January to August this year, tourist arrivals showed steady growth compared to 2023, with January recording a 103.1% increase to 208,253 tourists, February up by 102.8% to 218,350, and August rising by 20.7% to 164,609. The smallest growth was in March, with a 66.7% increase to 209,181 tourists. Cumulatively, 1,362,668 tourists had arrived by August, compared to 1,487,303 in 2023 for the same period.

Aftermath of court decision

The Cabinet of Ministers has authorised the President to implement visa-free access for 38 nationalities immediately, using Singapore’s efficient ‘one-chop’ approach. This move is intended to alleviate congestion at visa counters, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry.

On 21 August, the Cabinet also decided to grant visa-free entry to Sri Lanka for citizens from 35 countries, including the UK, the US, Canada, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Russia, South Korea, and Japan. This new policy is set to remain in effect for six months.

On 2 August, the Supreme Court issued an Interim Order suspending the Cabinet’s decision to outsource the visa application process to a consortium led by GBS Technology Services & IVS Global FZCO (IVS-GBS) and VFS VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd. (VFS Global). This suspension remains in effect until the petitions are resolved and authorities are directed to maintain the previous status quo.

The court’s decision follows Fundamental Rights petitions from members of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) and Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), challenging the procurement process for the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system.

The petitions argue that procedural violations and a lack of transparency have breached citizens’ rights. Issues include the improper selection of private entities, potential financial losses, and the effective operation of the ETA system by Mobitel Ltd. at a lower cost. The petitions seek accountability for these alleged irregularities.

In the meantime, key Opposition legislators have accused the Public Security Ministry and immigration officials of violating a Supreme Court order regarding a visa deal with the IVS-GBS and VFS Global consortium. Opposition MP Rauff Hakeem criticised the Immigration Department’s inaction, alleging it undermined the court order and harmed the tourism industry.

Nevertheless, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles announced that the Attorney General would seek a court date to address the delays in reverting to the Mobitel system.

Ministry efforts 

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Public Security Ministry Secretary Viyani Gunathilaka said that, despite receiving Cabinet approval for the issuance of free visas, the implementation of this policy required the passage of a specific regulation.

“A regulation must be enacted before the policy can take effect. We have forwarded the necessary documentation to the Legal Draftsman’s Department. Once we receive the drafted regulation, it will need to be submitted to the Cabinet and then presented to Parliament for approval. We have already initiated this process,” Gunathilaka said.

Additionally, he noted the ministry’s efforts to address staffing shortages. “We have attempted to recruit retired officers to fill gaps, but these efforts have not been successful. Therefore, we have requested an expansion of the current cadre to allow for the recruitment of additional officers.”