Tourism associations have urged authorities to address the issue urgently and reinstate the Mobitel-supported online visa platform as directed.
The Ministry of Public Security has indicated that restoring the previous system is unlikely to be feasible in the near term.
“We cannot revert to the old system as we are overhauling the entire immigration system. Any attempt to do so would take months,” Public Security Minister Tiran Alles said at a press conference last week.
Alles attributed the delays to new regulations and protocols introduced to support the VFS Global -led portal.
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which only recently celebrated the suspension of the VFS Global-led visa issuing system, is now grappling with a significant crisis.
The sector is under severe strain as tourists and travel agents face mounting difficulties in securing the necessary approvals to enter the country.
Despite assurances from authorities that the transition back to the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system would mitigate visa-related hurdles, proposed solutions have not been effective.
This development is a substantial challenge to an industry that was gradually recovering from previous setbacks beyond its control. Industry stakeholders have described the fallout from the visa issue as “massive”, with potential tourists deterred by the absence of an online visa application option.
