An incident at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport on 1 May sparked tensions between the tourism industry and the Sri Lankan government. Private operators like GBS and VFS have been allowed to issue visas, and raise fees. As accusations whirl around the Ministry of Public Security, the government plans an investigation.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – An unexpected incident on 1 May at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport is shedding light on the current mismanagement of visas in Sri Lanka.
The refusal by the “Indian” staff handling Sri Lanka’s immigration to issue a visa to the foreign wife of Sri Lankan lawyer, Sandaru Kumarasinghe, has triggered a controversy after videoclips of the incident were posted on social media.
Since the Sri Lankan government decided to outsource visa procedures to private companies, the tourism industry has been in an uproar over this decision, which has resulted in visa fees soaring, the scrapping of the electronic travel…
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