Amid deepening economic and political crises in the country, Sri Lanka’s outward labour migration increased by a record 286 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to 105, 821 in the five months up to May this year, according to official figures compiled by Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).

Compared to 27, 360 outward labour migrations during the first five months of the last year, SLBFE  highlighted that the outward labour migration increased by a record 78, 461 during the first five months of this year.
It noted that the majority or 67, 156 people who were largely males have migrated by their own without the support of licensed foreign employment agencies while 38, 665 persons have migrated through licensed foreign employment agencies, which included 25, 224 females.

Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and South Korea emerged as top  labour migration destinations for Sri Lankans in the period. Specially, 19, 133 Sri Lankans took up employment in Qatar during the period, where FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held later this year.

However, the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies (ALFEA) noted that actual figures might be even higher as some Sri Lankans are choosing to migrate for employment through unofficial avenues, in particular due to restrictions on female labour migrations imposed with gender-biased regulations such family background report (FBR).

Further, long queues can be seen at the Department of Immigration & Emigration with a large number of Sri Lankans queuing up to obtain passports amid the worst economic crisis Sri Lanka is facing since its independence. 

SLBFE noted that it has expanded its services to accommodate the rising number of Sri Lankans who are taking up foreign employment opportunities due to economic difficulties.

The Agency also requested from foreign labour migrants to use banking channels when transferring their hard-earned foreign currency earnings back to the country.