Sri Lanka suspends plan to scrap on-arrival visas

COLOMBO // Sri Lanka said today it had suspended plans to scrap on-arrival visas for most nationals, including visitors from the US, Europe, Australia and Japan. The government had announced it was withdrawing the landing endorsements from September 30, in a move widely seen as potentially damaging to the island's tourism industry, which is recovering from 37 years of ethnic conflict. A statement posted on the immigration controller's website said: "Notice is hereby given that the earlier public notice on 'Withdrawal of on-arrival visa facility' be treated as withdrawn until further notice." There was no further comment from the government.

Earlier the immigration controllera had said those visiting Sri Lanka would be expected to obtain a visa from a Sri Lankan mission abroad before arriving on the island. However, visitors from Singapore and the Maldives, which grant Sri Lankan passport holders visa on arrival, were to be exempted from the restriction. The decision to tighten entry controls came as the government raised fears that Tamil Tiger rebels may try to regroup and revive their separatist movement with the help of ethnic Tamils living abroad.

The US state department warns its nationals of Sri Lankan descent that they may be subjected to additional scrutiny on arrival at Colombo's international airport. "In some cases, foreigners of Sri Lankan origin may be detained without their embassies being notified," the state department said in its travel advisory to US citizens. Sri Lanka has granted tourists a 30-day visa on arrival since the 1970s as part of a move to promote tourism, which was badly affected by the island's ethnic conflict which ended in May last year with the crushing of Tigers.

The local tourism industry has been buoyed by a near 50 percent increase in foreign visitors since the end of fighting last year. Sri Lanka hopes to double the number of visiting tourists this year to 600,000. * AFP