COLOMBO: Sri Lanka announced the termination of long-term tourist visa extensions for thousands of Russians and Ukrainians who had been utilizing this policy to reside on the island following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Harsha Ilukpitiya, the Commissioner-General of Immigration, stated that “the government is not granting further visa extensions,” setting a deadline of March 7 for departure. He added, “The flight situation has now normalized, and they have no difficulty in getting back.”
Official figures indicate that just over 288,000 Russians and nearly 20,000 Ukrainians have visited Sri Lanka in the past two years. The exact number of individuals who overstayed the usual 30-day tourist visa is unclear.
Nonetheless, it is known that thousands of Russians and a smaller number of Ukrainians have settled in Sri Lanka, some seeking to avoid potential conscription into the military.
Among those who remained, some have established restaurants and nightclubs. The government’s decision coincides with a strong social media backlash against a Russian-operated nightclub that organized a “whites-only” party in the southern coastal resort town of Unawatuna.
Sri Lanka had initially aimed to boost tourism by offering 30-day visas on arrival, a move driven by the urgent need for foreign exchange as the country grappled with its worst economic crisis since mid-2022.
Following the country’s default on its $46 billion foreign debt in April 2022 and months of street protests, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned three months later.
An IMF bailout totaling $2.9 billion has contributed to stabilizing the economy and alleviating shortages of essential goods such as food, fuel, and medicine.
