Visa muddle

Tuesday 7th May, 2024

The BIA (Bandaranaike International Airport) visa controversy has taken a dramatic turn with the Opposition accusing Public Security Minister Tiran Alles of having misled Parliament. The outsourcing of on-arrival visa processing to a foreign company has provoked a public outcry. The company reportedly charges about USD 20 or more as visa handling fee per person; this has caused visa costs to soar, and tourism industry stakeholders are up in arms; they complain that other Asian countries are keeping their visa fees low to promote tourism but Sri Lankan is driving tourists away.

Minister Alles, addressing the media yesterday, claimed that the revised visa fees had been approved by Parliament unanimously in November 2023. Although the Opposition was making a great hue and cry about high visa fees levied on tourists, it had not raised objections to them in Parliament, he said. Claiming that Alles misled Parliament in 2023, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella has said he would make a special statement on the issue in the House today.

There have been instances where some Bills were passed in the most obnoxious manner in Parliament, as was evident from the ‘passage’ of the Online Safety Bill in January 2024. It was deemed passed amidst raucous shouts of the MPs staging a protest in the House. The government has incurred much opprobrium for that sordid act, which has been condemned by all those who cherish democracy. One can only hope that the Opposition will reveal the circumstances under which Parliament allowed visa fees to be jacked up.

What is passed by Parliament, however, can always be amended or even done away with. So, if the new visa fee structure has stood in the way of tourism promotion, Parliament should seriously consider revising it downward forthwith.

Minister Alles also sought to justify the award of the on-line visa processing contract to the aforesaid foreign firm on the grounds that the deal had received Cabinet approval. There is no reason to doubt that he was telling the truth. The Cabinet may have approved the contract, but the problem is that all questionable deals have passed muster with the Cabinet, the Health Ministry procurement scams being a case in point. So, Cabinet approval does not necessarily reflect integrity, legality and legitimacy.

The Public Security Minister yesterday highlighted some limitations of the previous on-arrival visa processing system. If it had been found wanting, it should have been upgraded, and there was no need for a foreign firm to be brought in to handle visa documentation. If the back-end operations pertaining to on-line visa issuance are carried out by the Emigration and Immigration Department personnel, why can’t they be allowed to continue to handle the processing of the visa applications as well?

The controversial on-arrival visa issuance scheme would not have come to light but for a protest a Sri Lankan youth held against it at BIA the other day. His agitation became a web sensation and went over big with all concerned Sri Lankans. Minister Alles claimed that the youth had seen red because his wife had been refused preferential treatment at the on-line visa counters. But the real issue is not the youth’s protest, but what made the government adopt the new visa processing system with the help of a foreign company, which is making a killing at the expense of visitors to Sri Lanka.

The police summoned the airport protester yesterday and obtained a statement from him. Their action smacks of a politically-motivated move to harass him. It may be recalled that in the early noughties, some LTTE leaders were given VIP treatment at BIA, which they had attacked; they were whisked through the airport sans any checks, and SLAF choppers were used to transport them to and from the Vanni jungles. So, it is hoped that the government will not launch a witch-hunt against the above-mentioned youth over his peaceful protest at BIA.