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Public complain of lengthy queues at Consular Affairs Division

27 Apr 2022

BY Dinitha Rathnayake Members of the public have raised concerns over the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Consular Affairs Division, due to having to wait in long queues to seek services. Speaking to The Morning, one person said that he had had to wait in three different queues to enter the division.  “This division is situated at the Ceylinco building, on the second floor. Once we reached it to certify our documents, officers from the Civil Defence Force asked us to go downstairs and write our names,” they recounted.  “It was heavily crowded downstairs, and there was a huge queue to write names. Then there was another queue to get a token. We waited for at least two hours to go inside. After going in, there was another queue to issue yet another token. Most of the counters are closed, and people have to wait for long hours to obtain what they came to get done." It was also learnt that there is no designated place for the public to wait. One officer revealed that around 1,000 people arrive every day at the Consular Affairs Division due to the current situation in the country. “We don't have enough facilities. When there is a power cut, there are only a few fans to provide ventilation,” another officer claimed. Even though the Ministry announced that those who wish to obtain services from the division are encouraged to make online appointments, people still have to wait in queues to obtain tokens, even if they have such an appointment.  The division receives a high number of service-seekers nowadays, to obtain various certificates and have documents authenticated, from different parts of the country. The division provides services using the full capacity of the officers and certificates, and documents are authenticated through the Electronic Documents Attestation System. Attempts to contact the Acting Director General of the Consular Affairs Division regarding this matter proved futile.


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