Tourism-reliant Sri Lanka faces backlash over new visa system

Sri Lanka faces backlash over new visa system with higher costs, Indian involvement, and corruption allegations.

 A fortnight after Sri Lanka switched to a new visa issuing system, authorities are facing a backlash over higher visa costs that could deter tourists, “Indian involvement”, and “corruption” in the subject minister’s push to outsource visa processing.

Beginning April 17, 2024, Sri Lanka’s Department of Immigration and Emigration directed travellers to a new visa portal, run by VFS Global, for online visa application under various categories. The formerly used Electronic Travel Authorisation system, known for its speed and accessibility, was scrapped.

The move followed a Cabinet decision last year, based on a proposal from Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, to appoint GBS Technology Services & IVS Global – FZCO and VFS Global as authorised agents for the online submission of visa applications for foreigners visiting Sri Lanka. Subsequently, the three companies formed a consortium and signed an agreement with Sri Lankan authorities, according to officials.

With the introduction of the new system, Sri Lanka’s visa nearly doubled, along with the introduction of a $18.5 service fee and $5 convenience fee charged by VFS Global. Even as users pointed to the absence of a single-entry, 30-day tourist visa option, a recent video recording of a visiting Sri Lankan complaining that “Indians” were handling visa issuance at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo sparked a fresh controversy. The video clip of the angry man went viral, prompting the Indian High Commission in Colombo to clarify that the companies involved are “not India based or Indian and are headquartered elsewhere”. “Any reference to India in this context is unwarranted,” a statement issued on May 2 said.

GBS Technology Services is Singapore based, and partners with IVS Global Services, a company incorporated in Maharashtra in 2010. Now a global outsourcing and technology services provider, IVS also processes Indian visa applications of Sri Lankans. VFS Global, founded in India in 2001, is currently headquartered in Zurich and Dubai, and was acquired by American private equity firm Blackstone in 2021.

Those operating in Sri Lanka’s crucial tourism industry see the steep hike in visa fees in conflict with the government’s stated aim of booting tourist arrivals. “From an industry point of view, we have no problem with opting for a technologically advanced system. But we don’t understand why the old system, which was simple and effective, is being replaced with much higher costs to visitors,” said Nishad Wijetunga, President of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators. Along with other industry representatives, he wrote to President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently, urging him to intervene and restore “a competitive, user-friendly visa process through a government-operated website”, to sustain the “positive momentum” seen in the country’s tourism sector.

While Sri Lankan media went to town with the “visa fiasco” over the weekend, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa took to social media platform ‘X’ on Monday to challenge the government’s decision. “When cabinet papers were submitted for VFS selection, what were the factors that led to choosing VFS at 25.77 USD over 1 USD per arrival that [state-owned telecom’s] SLT Mobitel offered?” he asked.