Ukrainian tourists’ visas extended

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga in a statement issued to the media yesterday said that action would be taken to grant special visa extension to around 4,000 Ukrainian tourists currently in Sri Lanka unable to return to their home country owing to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Minister said that a proposal in this regard would be presented to the Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held today (28).

He said that the Foreign Ministry had commenced discussions with the Department of Immigration and Emigration to extend the visas of Ukrainian tourists who are unable to return home.

Minister Ranatunga said that visas were issued to tourists usually for a period of one month.

According to the Tourism Development Authority, nearly 4,000 Ukrainian tourists are currently staying in Sri Lanka, while the number of Russian tourists staying in Sri Lanka is around 11,500, the statement said.