The Department of Government Information, in response to allegations over the outsourced online visa application process, said it had been given to VFS Global, a company with 146 centres across the globe after proper study into the matter and approval by the Cabinet.
Asserting that visa endorsement is always retained by Sri Lanka Immigration, he said only document processing is done by VFS Global as in any other country where it is in operation.
“We, Sri Lankans, go to VFS Global when we apply for visas to travel to any other country. It has 146 centres across the world. Therefore, people across the globe have the facility to apply for a visa to travel to Sri Lanka. It is nothing but tourism promotion,” the Department said.
Further, it said relevant visa fees charged from applicants are for the state coffers whereas the company will receive service charges for work done by it in processing documents for visa.
In response to media queries regarding Indian companies taking over visa issuance at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Colombo, a spokesman for the Indian High Commission said any reference to India is unwarranted as companies referred to do not belong to India.
“We have seen reports and comments including in social media regarding Indian companies taking over visa issuance at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Colombo.
The companies referred to in these reports are not India based or Indian and are headquartered elsewhere,” the spokesman said .