D. L. & F. De Saram

The effect of Covid–19 on Immigration – Sri Lanka

The effect of Covid–19 on Immigration – Sri Lanka

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Further to the previous directive issued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the automatic extension granted to all types of visa have been further extended until the 11th of June 2020. The following directives have been issued to all foreigners (applicants) residing in Sri Lanka:

If an applicant’s passport is in the custody of the Department of Immigration and Emigration and should such person require to travel out of Sri Lanka, a written request to obtain the passport may be made, along with a scanned copy of the acknowledgement and a copy of the flight ticket to any of the following e-mail addresses:

    • Applicants are strictly prohibited from entering the premises of the Department of Immigration and Emigration to obtain visa extensions, without a prior appointment.
    • An Appointment Notice will be issued through the above link and only those who possess the Appointment Notice will be allowed inside the premises of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. An applicant is required to be present 15 minutes prior to the time slot allocated to them. In the event an applicant cannot be present at the given time, the appointment becomes invalid after a 10 minute grace period and a fresh appointment will have to be obtained. It must be noted that only a limited number of appointments shall be issued per day.
    • In the event that the Government imposes curfew on the date allocated to an applicant, the applicant is required to email Department of Immigration and Emigration (to any email address mentioned above) the Appointment Notice issued to them and a fresh Appointment Notice will be issued in due course.
  • If any person wishes to travel out of Sri Lank, during the period mentioned above, the journey will be facilitated by paying the relevant visa fee at the Airport.

*All the visas which expire between 07th March 2020 to 11th June 2020, will be exempted from any overstay penalty.

Sanuji Munesinghe

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