News
BIA thrown into turmoil as foreign firm handles on-arrival visa counter
By Rathindra Kuruwita
A tense situation prevailed at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Wednesday night, with visitors having to wait in queues for hours to obtain arrival visas because a foreign-owned company had been tasked with handling the on-arrival visa counter.
The Sri Lankan government introduced the on arrival visa facility in 2012 and it was administered by the Department of Immigration and Emigration. A visitor from a SAARC country had to pay 20 US dollars for a 30-day standard tourist visa while a visitor from a non-SAARC country had to pay 50 dollars for the same visa. The department was planning to implement an online visa submission scheme as well.
However, in September 2023, the Cabinet of ministers approved the appointment of an authorised agent for online visa submissions. Sri Lanka switched to a platform operated by the foreign firms IVS-GBS and VFS Global in mid-April from the electronic travel authorisation system operated by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Immigration and Emigration Controller General Harsha Illukpitiya told the media that the decision had been taken to attract more visitors and that they would work with VFS Global. The visa fee increased significantly as a result.
An immigration officer said that VFS officials had taken over the on arrival visa counter on Wednesday evening. “People were angry. The VFS officials collect money from visitors and do not accept credit cards. There was a long queue and by 10.30 pm they packed their equipment and left the counter. Then we had to take over,” he said.
The immigration officer said there had been three Indian supervisors among the VFS staff and they were halted by the Customs while they were leaving. They were released after checking them and taking account of the money they had collected.Issuing a statement on Thursday, the Indian High Commission said VFS was not an India based company.
The Railways Department yesterday (29) announced the restoration of services on the Puttalam line. The Department said that train services between Colombo Fort and Chilaw that had been disrupted, following damages caused by Cyclone Ditwah, had resumed. Cyclone Ditwah hit Sri Lanka on 27 Nov.
The section of the railway track, near the Kadupitiya Oya Bridge, located between Kudawewa and Madampe railway stations, was washed away by floods caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
The Navy has seized 43 fishing boats, along with 343 fishers, this year, for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The last interception was made south of the Delft Island, Jaffna, on 27 December.
The boat and three fishermen taken into custody were brought to the Kareinagar Jetty and handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Jaffna for legal action.
The Central Bank has imposed ‘administrative penalties’ on several financial institutions, including two banks, for non-compliance with the provisions of the FTRA (Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006)
The Bank stated: “In terms of the FTRA, the penalty may be prescribed by taking into consideration the nature and gravity of relevant non-compliances of the Institutions. Accordingly, as Sri Lanka’s regulator for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), the Financial Intelligence Unit
(FIU) collected penalties as indicated below, amounting to Nine Million and Five Hundred Thousand Rupees (Rs. 9,500,000) in total, from July to September 2025, to enforce compliance of the Institutions. The money collected as penalties was credited to the Consolidated Fund.”
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