Sri Lanka Police have arrested 17 foreign nationals in two separate raids this week for allegedly staying in the country without valid visas.

On Thursday (14), a team from the Panadura Walana Central Strike Unit raided a hotel in the Waskaduwa area under the Kalutara North Police Division. 

Fourteen foreign nationals were taken into custody, including 12 Chinese nationals aged between 22 and 56 years and two Malaysian nationals.

Meanwhile, officers from the Trincomalee Police Station raided a hotel in the Murugaripuri area of the Trincomalee Police Division yesterday, arresting three Indian nationals aged 49 and 50 years for similar visa violations.

The Police said further investigations into both incidents are being carried out by the Kalutara North Police and the Trincomalee Police, respectively. (Newswire/ File Pic)

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Forty‑nine Chinese and Malaysian nationals arrested in Colpetty for staying without valid visa permits, were remanded until May 15 by the Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday (13).

The group was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during a raid in the Colpetty area recently.

The Police said the individuals had entered Sri Lanka from Cambodia on tourist visas but were found residing without proper authorization.

Following their court appearance, the suspects were remanded. (Newswire)

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Fifteen (15) Indian nationals who had stayed in Sri Lanka violating visa conditions have been arrested and deported to India.

According to the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the group which had arrived in Sri Lanka through tourist visas was found to be involved in various activities in the country.

Eight Indian nationals had been working as carvers in a sawmill in Jaffna, while five were working in restaurants, and two were found to be engaged in activities related to religious propaganda. 

Two Indians who had been preparing to hold a religious conference in Jaffna on 05 and 07 March were arrested following protests against them by local Hindu organizations. 

The Indian nationals were arrested during a raid in Jaffna, carried out under the orders of Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, Nilusha Balasuriya.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration deported the group to Chennai, India last week (08 Mar). (Newswire)

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A group of Bangladeshis have been arrested for staying in Sri Lanka by violating visa conditions.

The Police said eight (08) Bangladesh nationals were taken into custody from a hotel in the Andiambalama area in Katunayake last evening.

They were arrested by the Officials from the Katunayake Police and the Immigration Department based on a tip-off received via the Police Emergency Hotline 119. 

The arrested Bangladeshis are aged between 20 and 30 years. The Katunayake Police is conducting further investigations. (Newswire)

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The Kandy Tourist Police have arrested two foreigners who had engaged in business activities while on a tourist visa in Sri Lanka.

The Police said the suspects, aged 47 and 48 years, are two Chinese women.

They had been arrested while engaging in business activities at the Economic Centre premises, based on a tip-off.

The suspects have been handed over to the Kandy Police Station for further investigations. (Newswire)

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Two foreign nationals have been apprehended for staying in Sri Lanka while violating visa conditions. 

According to the Police, the arrested foreigners are a 22-year-old Italian and a 32-year-old British national.

The two foreigners had been arrested in the Buwelikada area in Kandy based on a tip-off received by the Kandy Tourism Police Unit. 

The Kandy Police is conducting further investigations. (Newswire)

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A group of Chinese nationals have been arrested in Payagala for allegedly violating visa conditions. 

The Police said the group of six persons included five men and a woman, and they were arrested last morning. 

The men are aged 20, 22, 24, 27, and 39 years old, while the woman is a 48-year-old. 

The Payagala Police is conducting investigations. (Newswire)

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The need for public assistance to identify Russian and Ukrainian nationals overstaying by violating their visa conditions was taken up for discussion at the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) recently.

Officials from the Department of Immigration and Emigration pointed out that there were reports of Russians and Ukrainians, whose visas have expired, continuing to reside in Sri Lanka.

They pointed out that these Russians and Ukrainians have also been found to be engaging in business activities in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. 

The Immigration Department officials further revealed issues in identifying the whereabouts of these Russians and Ukrainians.

As such, the officials pointed out the need to establish a hotline to seek public assistance to obtain information on Russians and Ukrainians who have violated visa conditions and are engaging in business activities. 

The matter was taken up for discussion when officials of the Department of Immigration and Emigration were summoned before the COPA Committee last week. (Newswire)

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Twenty-one (21) Indian men have been arrested for violating visa conditions, by operating an online shopping centre in Negombo, it was reported. 

The men who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas were apprehended by officials from the Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday (Mar 12). 

Following preliminary investigations, the department officials raided a house used by the suspects to operate the online shopping centre. 

The group is reported to have taken advantage of the visa-free provision offered to several countries until March 31 as part of an ongoing pilot project to promote tourism.

However, Immigration Department officials said that people arriving in Sri Lanka via tourist visa are prohibited from engaging in paid or unpaid employment. 

The arrested Indian nationals have been placed at the department’s detention centre in Welisara. (NewsWire)

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