Sri Lanka immigration officials accepted eTN’s suggestion to correct tourist visa on arrival procedure

eTurboNews recently reported about its publisher’s experience with an extortion scam by Sri Lanka Immigration Officers.

eTN is now pleased to report that due to our article, the Controller General team of the Sri Lanka Department of Immigration and Emigration, Mr. W.A.C. Perera reached out to eTN Publisher Juergen T. Steinmetz and confirmed the following:

1) The Immigration Officer listed on your arrival records has been suspended, pending a full inquiry and investigation.

2) You will most likely be requested to appear at a hearing at a future date. Please let us know if you can indicate at which point you may be able to travel to Colombo so the hearing can be scheduled at a time and date convenient to you.

3) Incorporating your suggestions, signs clearly explaining the various visa fees have been posted at the Bandaranaike International Airport Arrival Counters.

He went on to say, “We deeply regret this unfortunate experience and will continue to strive to ensure such incidents do not occur to travelers visiting Sri Lanka.

“The DIE [Department of Immigration & Emigration] truly appreciates your honest and productive feedback and for your article which brought this incident to our attention.”

Juergen T. Steinmetz said: “I am very pleased the Sri Lanka immigration officials are handling this situation in a very professional and efficient way. Putting up signs with visa fees is a good step forward to avoid such confusion at the immigration check-point at Colombo airport.

“Sri Lanka is a fantastic tourism destination, and the first impression when arriving at any destination is always of utmost importance.

“I congratulate the Sri Lanka authorities on taking my small complaint serious. My complaint was not directed against one particulare officer, but more a suggestion on how this type of activity could be avoided. I am very pleased the authorities in Sri Lanka took my suggestion seriously and acted so quickly. It indicates the patriotism of dedicated leaders like Mr. W.A.C. Perera and many of the Sri Lanka tourism professionals I had met over the years.”