Lanka to relax visa procedures for all categories within two weeks

Sri Lanka will take steps to relax the visa procedure in the country, Controller General of the Immigration and Emigration Department, Harsha Ilukpitiya has said.Illukpitiya made the announcement at a press conference held at the Ministry of Public Security yesterday (18).

Ilukpitiya said they had reviewed all procedures related to issuing visas and that they had come up with a process to relax the procedures relating to all categories of visas.

The new procedures would be introduced in the next two weeks, he said, adding that under the present visa procedures, a person who visited Sri Lanka on a tourist visa could only extend his or her visa after a month of staying here.However, under the new visa scheme, anyone could obtain a visa for the total period of stay when he or she applied from a foreign country, he said.