Sri Lanka suspends visa on arrival facility due to coronavirus

Sri Lankan has temporarily suspended visa on arrival for foreigners until further notice in light of coronavirus scare. 

The Government Information Department issuing a statement today (11) said that under the quarantine procedure currently in place with the aim of preventing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, all Sri Lankans as well as foreigners arriving from Italy, South Korea and Iran are placed in quarantine facilities for 14 days.

Several foreigners who had arrived in the country from those countries are already placed in quarantine. 

The statement says that no individual has any social or legal rights to reject this process which is being carried out for the safety of the country and its citizens while the government urges all relevant parties to follow the process for the safety of their loved ones as well as the other citizens of the country.

Meanwhile the government has also decided to temporarily suspend the on arrival visa facility for foreigners until further notice.

The public are urged to avoid engaging in foreign travel as much as possible, except for essential reasons.

In February, Sri Lanka extended the free visa-on-arrival scheme until April 30 for the citizens of 48 countries.

Sri Lanka in January suspended its policy of granting visa on arrival for Chinese travellers, after the health authorities detected the country’s first coronavirus infection.

In light of coronavirus outbreak, countries all over the world are putting travel bans and issuing travel advisories.

Qatar banned travellers from countries including Sri Lanka a few days ago to contain Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.