• Accordingly, the Committee has agreed to present it to Parliament for a second reading
• Section 14 of the Immigrants & Emigrants Act No. 20 of 1948 will be amended to increase the current visa issuance period from 02 to 05 years
• The period for which visas can be granted with the approval of the Minister, will be increased from 05 years to 10 years

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence on September 22 has given its approval for the Immigrants and Emigrants (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to encourage foreign investors to extend their visas for five years, Parliament media unit said. 

Accordingly, the Committee has agreed to present it to Parliament for a second reading.

The Consultative Committee on Defence met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Member of Parliament, (Major) Pradeep Undugoda, MPs Charles Nirmalanathan, Tiran Allas and Officials including the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Mr. U. V. Sarath Rupasiri who joined via zoom.
Accordingly,  section 14 of the Immigrants & Emigrants Act No. 20 of 1948 will be amended to increase the current visa issuance period from 02 to 05 years, said Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Mr. U. V. Sarath Rupasiri. He stated that the period for which visas can be granted with the approval of the Minister, will be increased from 05 years to 10 years.

It was also revealed that these amendments will introduce the Permanent Resident Visa status and the relevant regulations will be formulated in the future. The Controller General of Immigration and Emigration pointed out that the issuance of long-term visas has a number of socio-economic benefits, including providing a safer environment for foreign investors to invest in businesses.