A foreign employment agency that had its license temporarily suspended due to involvement in overseas job fraud has been raided by the Special Investigation Unit of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).

The raid was carried out on Thursday (20) in the Maradana area, following information that the agency was continuing to recruit workers for foreign employment without a valid license.

Investigations revealed that the agency’s license had been suspended after receiving 85 complaints related to foreign employment fraud. During the raid, the license holder and three officials working at the agency were taken into custody by investigators.

Authorities also seized a large number of documents, including 256 foreign travel passports, believed to be linked to fraudulent recruitment activities.

The suspects were produced before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court yesterday (21).

The SLBFE has urged the public to exercise caution when seeking foreign employment.

It advised that before handing over money or passports to any agency or individual, applicants should verify whether the agency holds a valid license and whether it has received official job orders.

For verification, the public can visit the official SLBFE website (www.slbfe.lk) or contact the 1989 hotline for instant information. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has taken legal action against individuals involved in fraudulent foreign employment activities and unlicensed recruitment agencies, recovering over Rs. 199.4 million for affected victims, between January and July 2025.

According to the SLBFE, these prosecutions were initiated based on special raids conducted under the guidance of Deputy General Manager (Legal) Nelum Samarasekara, as well as complaints received by the Bureau.

During the past seven months, a total of 567 court cases have been filed against foreign employment fraudsters, while the SLBFE received 2,620 complaints during that period.

Within this timeframe, the SLBFE’s Special Investigations Division carried out five raids, one of which targeted a licensed foreign employment agency engaged in illegal practices.

A total of 36 suspects were arrested, including seven individuals affiliated with licensed recruitment agencies.

Additionally, in 2024, the SLBFE successfully recovered over Rs. 182.5 million for victims of foreign employment fraud. That year, the Bureau received 4,658 complaints related to foreign employment issues. (Newswire)

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New regulations introduced by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) for all Sri Lankans seeking foreign employment in non-domestic sectors for the first time come into effect from today (01 July).

Accordingly, all Sri Lankans seeking foreign employment in non-domestic sectors for the first time must obtain certification of their employment contracts from the Sri Lankan diplomatic mission in the respective country before registering with the SLBFE.

This mandatory requirement applies to workers migrating to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea.

The SLBFE states this move is aimed at strengthening the protection and legal rights of Sri Lankan workers overseas by ensuring contract transparency and authenticity before departure.

However, the requirement does not apply to individuals travelling for self-employment in professional categories. 

Such individuals will be exempted if they can produce a passport indicating their profession or relevant documentation confirming their professional status in the destination country. (Newswire)

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Twenty- five (25) Sri Lankan foreign employment agencies participated in the Saudi Human Resources and Manpower Expo, for the first time. 

According to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh, the Expo was held from 27 – 30 October 2024 in Riyadh with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia, Ameer Ajwad inaugurating the Sri Lanka pavilion.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE) facilitated the participation of the Sri Lankan foreign employment agencies.

Leading human resource and recruitment companies in Saudi Arabia and a significant international presence from European, Asian, and African countries were featured in the Expo. The visiting Sri Lanka delegation of foreign employment recruitment agencies engaged in B2B meetings with their counterparts during the event. 

The Embassy hosted a feedback session on the last day of the Expo for the visiting Sri Lanka delegation of foreign employment agencies. Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Ameer Ajwad underscored the great prospects in the Saudi labour market for skilled manpower from Sri Lanka, with new opportunities unfolding under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda. He urged Sri Lanka manpower recruitment agencies to focus on this promising sector. 

The Ambassador also encouraged them to make use of the agreement signed between the Sri Lanka Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and Takamol Holdings of Saudi Arabia on the Skill Verification Program, which offers 23 skilled labour categories and aims at improving the professional competence of employees in the Saudi labour market, easing the recruitment process of skilled workers from Sri Lanka.

The feedback session also included a workshop to integrate the inputs from the agencies into an action plan being prepared by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh for the enhancement of labour relations between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. (Newswire)

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President Ranil Wickremesinghe has invited foreign employment agencies to collaborate in expanding Sri Lanka’s Tourism Industry.

The President said if foreign employment agencies focus on attracting tourists to Sri Lanka from the countries where they supply labour, including the Middle Eastern countries, the Ministry of Tourism will provide the necessary facilities.

“I believe you can bring business opportunities to Sri Lanka from the countries where our citizens are employed, especially from the Middle East. If we can send Sri Lankan employees to those countries, we should also attract tourists from those regions to Sri Lanka. 

“By collaborating with the Ministry of Tourism, you can expand your business further. We will provide you with government support for these initiatives,” he assured.

President Wickremesinghe further said government support will also be provided for initiatives that look at exporting food to those countries. 

“We would like to inform you that if we can export food to those countries, we will provide government support for that endeavour. We must think innovatively and embark on a new journey, avoiding stagnation,” he said.

The President made this announcement during the “Abhiman- 2024” event held in Kurunegala yesterday.

During the event, President Wickremesinghe presented certificates and commemorative gifts to foreign employment agencies that significantly contributed to the country’s economy during the economic crisis. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency announced the successful deployment of its first batch of candidates to Singapore, with 16 individuals chosen to serve as Auxiliary Police Officers.

Auxiliary Police are security police employed by private companies in Singapore, supporting the country’s Police force.

The Agency said that the milestone is a significant step towards providing excellent employment opportunities for talented Sri Lankan citizens abroad. (Newswire)

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Foreign employment registrations in 2023 have reached over 297,000, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said. 

He said a total of 297,100 registrations for foreign employment has been received in 2023.

Minister Nanayakkara further said the figures were recorded as of 07.01 am on January 01, 2024. (NewsWire)

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A supporting actor in several popular local TV dramas and films is among three persons arrested over a foreign employment racket in Sri Lanka, it was reported. 

According to Daily News, the suspects had obtained money between Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 2 million from the public promising overseas employment in Italy.

The suspects were arrested on Monday (Nov 06) by officers of the Panadura Walana Police Anti-Corruption Task Force.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the supporting actor is reported to have worked at several media organizations and owned media Identity cards issued by the said organizations. 

He is reported to have defrauded the public by displaying fake Italian visas and air tickets that had been created on the computer. 

Investigations have also revealed that the supporting actor had acted as the head of the employment agency, while the other two had operated as his accomplices. 

Further investigations are being conducted by the Police. (NewsWire)

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An individual who had financially defrauded the public of Rs. 137,000 promising overseas employment has been arrested in Kadugannawa.

The Police stated that based on a complaint, the suspect was arrested by the Nuwara Eliya Police while at his rented property in Kadugannawa yesterday.

The suspect has been identified as a 55-year-old resident of Meerandeniya, Galle. 

Investigations have revealed that there are 13 pending cases on financial fraud against the suspect in the Mathugama, Mahara, Pannala, Fort, Kegalle, Dambulla, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Balapitiya, Anuradhapura, Nugegoda, Kalutara, and Hulftsdorp courts. 

The Nuwara Eliya Police is conducting investigations into the incident. (NewsWire)

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The Organization representing Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Agents based in the Emirates has requested the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara to speed up the digitalization process of the foreign employment sector.

Issuing a statement, the Association of Ceylon Foreign Employment Agents in the UAE said that the request has been made in order to streamline and accelerate the services and activities of foreign employment agencies that provide employment opportunities to Sri Lankan workers in foreign countries.

The request was made by Sampath Kumarasinghe, Co-Chairman of the Organization of Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Agents in the Emirates, when he met the minister during his recent official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Sampath Kumarasinghe, stressing the need to digitalize the field of foreign employment, at the earliest said, “We, the representatives who are looking forward to providing more foreign employment opportunities to Sri Lankan workers, would like to draw your attention to the more regularization of work orders. Currently, there are many problems in approving and sending a work order to Sri Lanka and we have to come directly to the embassy to give work orders. Even those who are hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from the embassy have to visit the embassy, and have to do so on several occasions; it is a waste of our time and money”.

“At the same time, work and reputation of employment agencies are affected at times due to various types of deceitful activities of a few people who are recruited and sent to foreign countries for employment”.

“Your comments to the media that the whole process from giving a job order to bringing a worker to a foreign country will be digitalized to streamline and enhance the work has garnered our attention. We appreciate the effort because it is the need of the hour”.

“If it is possible to completely digitalize the activities in this field, then it will be possible to prevent the irregularities reported in the field of foreign employment and thus it will be possible to run this field with more professionalism. Also, we believe that we will be able to better ensure the safety of workers,” he said.

Responding to the request, Minister Manusha Nanayakkara assured that steps will be taken to speed up the digitalization of the foreign employment sector. (NewsWire)

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