Public Security, Immigration officials finally show up at CoPF over visa crisis

CoPF Chairman and MP Dr. Harsha de Silva 

• CoPF Chief Dr. Harsha de Silva assures detailed report soon

Following multiple delays caused by repeated absences of key officials from the Public Security Ministry and Department of Immigration and Emigration, Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) Chairman and MP Dr. Harsha de Silva announced that the officials finally attended the meeting held on Tuesday (4) at the Parliament premises.

The meeting, which addressed the ongoing issues related to the visa issuance process managed by VFS Global, concluded with a promise of a detailed report to be presented soon.

“IVS-GBS VFS visa matter was concluded. Our report will be presented at the earliest. As I have maintained throughout, I shall not discuss substantive issues until then,” Dr. de Silva posted on ‘X’.

His stance shows maintaining transparency and accountability in addressing the concerns raised by the citizens and the impacted travellers.

Originally, the meeting was scheduled for 14 May but had to be rescheduled twice due to no-show from the officials. 

Dr. de Silva had previously expressed his frustration over the delays, particularly after the officials failed to attend the 14 May session, which necessitated a rescheduled meeting on 28 May, but that meeting was also postponed, eventually taking place on 4 June.

The summons for the officials came in the wake of public dissatisfaction with the new visa issuance system introduced by VFS Global, an international visa processing service.

The dissatisfaction was highlighted by a viral video showing a Sri Lankan passenger at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expressing frustration over delays and additional processing fees charged by the said company.

The new system was established following Cabinet approval on 11 December 2023 to sign an agreement with GBS Technology Services, IVS Global – FZCO, and VFS VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd. These organisations were authorised to handle the processing of online submission of visa applications of foreigners’ keen to visit Sri Lanka. However, the decision to outsource visa processing and the high service fee on top of increased visa cost has come under severe attack from the travel and tourism industry and IT sector.