Sri Lanka manages visa on arrival after backlash, says reworking on transition with VFS Global

While Sri Lanka government has decided to reverse its new visa rules, the changes had led to a lot of struggle for travelelrs.

Sri Lanka has scrapped a decision to charge tourists higher visa fees and has temporarily rolled back a move to outsource visa on arrival application processing to a private company after a backlash from the travel and tourism industry.

By maintaining the free visa offer for select countries and Department of Immigration and Emigration (DI&E), Sri Lanka managing the visa on arrival process, travel experts said the island nation will continue to attract more international visitors from top source markets including India to boost tourism and aid in Sri Lanka's economic recovery.

The Sri Lankan cabinet decided on May 6 to reverse its decision to double tourist visa fees to $100 and said the Immigration and Emigration Department would continue to issue visas on arrival, according to a statement from the President’s Office.

The Department of Immigration & Emigration (DI&E) has signed a tripartite contract with GBS Technology Services & IVS Global FZCO being the prime contractor and VFS Global being the technology partner for the Sri Lanka government’s new E-Visa solution.

The global visa facilitation company VFS Global was given the mandate to manage the processing Visa on Arrival (VoA) applications at Colombo airport.

"As part of the digital transformation and modernisation of the visa system, the government of Sri Lanka decided to adopt VFS Global’s digital platform for its E-Visa and Visa-on-Arrival process," VFS Global said in a statement issued on May 6.

However, owing to some operational challenges, the visa on arrival project is being reworked as per the guidance of the Department of Immigration and Emigration (DI&E), Sri Lanka. Till the re-launch the DE&I will continue to manage the process.

The transition from Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to an eVisa platform which VFS Global was permitted to manage as a technology partner continues to be managed by the visa facilitation company.

Sri Lanka government's move to permit VFS Global to handle visa facilitation led to widespread criticism from the local travel and tourism industry because the changes resulted in confusion among travellers and complaints from tourists that the process had become cumbersome.

Complications peaked on April 30 when system failures led to extensive delays and long queues at immigration.

Sri Lanka has been rebuilding its tourism sector, which fetched it $2.07 billion in revenue in 2023, after facing challenges brought on by the pandemic and the country's economic and political crises.

New process, many challenges

Sri Lanka's Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, which was known for its speed and accessibility, was scrapped after the Department of Immigration and Emigration directed travellers to a new visa portal run by VFS Global for online visa applications from April 17.

VFS charging travellers an additional $18.5 service fee and $5 convenience fee has become a concern for many travellers. "The total service fee approved by the Cabinet is US$ 18.50 across all visa categories. Payment processing charges and applicable local taxes are in addition to the service fee," according to VFS Global's May 6 statement.

Also read: New Schengen visa rules: Number of Indians holidaying in EU to rise, benefit friends-relatives segment more

While the earlier process of obtaining an ETA was instant and straightforward, the new system introduced challenges such as an additional layer of documentation, pointed out Mohak Nahta, founder of Atlys, a visa platform.

"One of the reasons Sri Lanka has been a big draw is because it is well connected and the (previous) visa process made it easier to even plan a weekend trip to the country. But with a third party coming, the visa process became difficult because a traveller needed several days of documentation. Such policy changes have a long-term impact because the mindset shifts. Having third parties who are slow, and the process is manual, goes against Sri Lanka because they are competing with destinations like Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia," he said.

In addition to the longer visa processing time, the additional fees levied became a matter of concern for travellers. Despite qualifying for a “free visa,” Indian visitors had to pay about $23 (Rs 1,920) just towards service and convenience charges, Nadeem Sheikh, owner of a travel company in New Delhi, told The Hindu newspaper. Sheikh had recently applied for a Sri Lankan visa online.

“If they tell us this is the visa fee, that is one thing. But when you’re told the visa is free and then charged for it, it puts you off,” he said.

Also read: Schengen visa delay, refusal, high wait time leave Indians simmering this summer

India a big source market

India was the top source of tourists for Sri Lanka last year. Over 300,000 people from India visited the island nation in 2023, which accounted for 20 percent of the total arrivals of 1.48 million last year, according to data on the website of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said over 425,000 Indian tourists visited the country in 2019, before the pandemic, comprising about 18 percent of total international arrivals.

"Due to its proximity to India, Sri Lanka has been a favourable destination for Indians for a long time now. And they made visa free for Indians, which became an added reason for Indians to travel to Lanka," said Ajay Prakash, a board member of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH).

In October, Sri Lanka waived visa fees for tourists from India and six other countries — China, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan.

"Since it is close by and a cheaper destination, Sri Lanka has become a popular travel destination for Indians," said Rajiv Mehra, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

The spike in Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka was cited as the primary reason for the surge in tourist arrivals in the island nation in January, with the number of Indian visitors more than doubling, noted Vijay Kesavan, founder of StampThePassport, an online visa application platform.

The visa-free entry scheme was a pilot project that Sri Lanka renewed for visitors from India and six other countries to make travel more accessible and convenient.