Sri Lanka to continue issuing on-arrival visas to Bangladeshis, says deputy foreign minister

Sri Lanka has backtracked from its decision to stop issuing on-arrival visas for Bangladesh citizens amid diplomatic tension between the two South Asian nations.

The Sri Lankan government today announced that it will withdraw its plan and continue issuing the previous facilities.

“Necessary instruction has been given to withdraw the landing endorsements immediately,” said Harsha de Silva, Deputy Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka in Colombo.

In an interview with BBC, Silva said that the Sri Lankan government has not taken any decision to scrap the visa on arrival facility for the Bangladesh nationals.

He further told the BBC that the chief of the Immigration Department had taken the decision of his own, which is now being withdrawn.

Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and Colombo confirmed that Colombo assured of scrapping the decision as the move is widely seen as potentially damaging to the island’s tourism industry, which is recovering from 37 years of ethnic conflict.

They said an official notice is expected to be issued soon on 'Withdrawal of on-arrival visa facility' be treated as “withdrawn”.

There was no comment available from the Bangladesh government side.

In an abrupt move, Sri Lanka stopped issuing visa on arrival for Bangladeshis on September 7 without informing the Bangladesh government.

Visa on arrival facilities between the two countries began in 1980 following a bilateral agreement.

Expressing dissatisfaction over Sri Lankan’s “unilateral” decision to stop issuing of ‘visa on-arrival’ facility for Bangladeshis, Dhaka has asked Colombo for a clarification for the reason behind the action.

Bangladesh has also retaliated by stopping similar facilities for Sri Lankan nationals last week.

Earlier, Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral and Consular) Kamrul Ahsan called Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Dhaka Yasoja Gunasekera on September 11 at his office to know the reason behind stopping visa on arrival facility for Bangladeshi citizens from the Sri Lankan side.

Kamrul also asked for a clarification from Colombo regarding its decision.

However, the Sri Lankan envoy expressed his ignorance about her government’s sudden decision and she reportedly told the Additional Foreign Secretary that she herself did not know the development.

She informed that she would inform the Bangladesh foreign ministry once she knows the reason after consulting with officials in Colombo.

However, the foreign ministry sources said they heard this but did not receive any formal letter yet in this regard.