After two months of vacillation, previous visa process reintroduced; VFS out, Mobitel in

• No on-arrival visa charge for children below 12, $ 35 for SAARC nationals, US $ 60 for others

By Kelum Bandara  

After vacillation of two months despite a court ruling, the immigration authorities yesterday reinstated the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) process for issuing on-arrival visas according to the criterion that existed before April 17, leaving out the private consortium IVS-GBS and VFS Global that handled it, a source said.  

Accordingly, the system is now in effect from last midnight, and no visa fee will be charged for children below 12 from any country. Besides, a fee of US $ 35 is charged from nationals of  countries in the SAARC region and US $ 60 from other foreigners.   

The Supreme Court ordered on August 2 to cancel the contract given to this company. However, the immigration authorities failed to revert to the old system for visa issuance with the involvement of Mobitel.  

After that, the Supreme Court ordered on September 25 that the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Harsha Ilukpitiya, be remanded until the conclusion of the contempt of court proceedings, for his failing to implement the Supreme Court’s order over the controversial Visa Deal.   

A day after the latest decision, the Department of Immigration and Emigration took steps to reintroduce the old system and updated the online system at the airport, a task previously cited to be impossible in the span of a short time.  

Three members of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) of Parliament - M.A. Sumanthiran Rauff Hakeem and Patali Champika Ranawaka - challenged the controversial visa deal in court.  

The petitioners cited former Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, former Ministry Secretary Viyani Gunathilaka, the previous Cabinet of Ministers and several others as respondents.  

During the court process, the petitioners said, according to the new visa facilitation system, replaced a previous quick ETA process which led to allow the private company to earn nearly $ 50 million annually if tourist arrival projections remain unchanged. They stated this meant the implementation of an outsourcing scheme for visa processing, over the issuance, managing of online and on arrival visa, to a consortium led by VFS Global, with an additional $ 18.50 service charge imposed for each visa across all visa categories excluding payment of processing charges and local taxes which would in total account for approximately US $ 25.