No business visas online for trading here

Sri Lanka has stopped issuing business visas online to prevent the misuse of the facility, particularly by foreigners who are known to be using it to trade in merchandise here.

At present, there are three ways in which a person could obtain a business visa, Controller (Visa and Border Control) M. N Ranasinghe said.

“An applicant can present himself at the Department of Immigration and Emigration with relevant documents. Alternatively, he can submit his application to Sri Lankan missions overseas or he can obtain a visa on arrival provided he has the necessary papers to present to the Immigration counter at the airport,” he said.

Mr Ranasinghe said the definition of “business” visa might have been misunderstood by online applicants. By next week, website information would be updated to explain the revised procedure.

Those participating in the Commonwealth Business Forum could apply online through a dedicated portal but the visa approval would specify they were coming for the conference.

“In the past, some people took visas saying it was for business but we did not know whether they were using the visas for the specified purpose,” another official said. “One of the main issues is that people are coming here to sell goods.”

“Our business visa is not for trading,” he explained. “There is a different registration process for that. When they come in this manner, the country is deprived of taxes and other dues.”