The requirement to certify the employment contracts of Sri Lankans seeking employment abroad in the industrial and corporate sectors through self-directed means has been implemented from today (July 01) by the Sri Lankan Missions in the relevant countries.

Issuing a statement in this regard, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) stated that although the implementation was initially scheduled for June 7, it was postponed until today.

According to the new amendment, when applying for employment in the industrial and corporate sectors in 13 countries ,namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea, their service agreements must be certified by the SLBFE Labor Missions in those countries in order to obtain bureau registration. Furthermore, a fee of US$60 will be charged for this certification.

However, professionals seeking employment abroad through self-directed means are exempt from this requirement if they are applying for jobs in the professional category and can present a passport indicating their professional status or provide other documents that verify their professional qualifications when registering at the SLBFE office.

This decision was made as a solution to the challenges faced by Sri Lankan workers in foreign countries, including issues related to human trafficking. The SLBFE stressed that it aims to ensure the safety of Sri Lankan migrant workers by introducing this measure.