Sri Lankans living abroad will be able to apply for a new passport or renew their passport with effect from tomorrow (1 June), according to the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations.

This was revealed by officials of the Immigration and Emigration Department who participated in the said committee meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Namal Rajapaksa.

 Officials further pointed out that Sri Lankans living abroad can apply for passports online without visiting the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions in their countries.

The committee also discussed the implementation of an electronic passport and Rajapaksa instructed the relevant officials to speed up this process.

Rajapaksa also instructed the officials to swiftly prepare and implement a necessary mechanism for foreigners to obtain their visas without difficulty, and to take necessary steps to further improve the facilities of international airports for both locals and foreigners.