21 Indians on tourist visas detained for taking jobs in SL

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities have detained 21 Indian nationals for illegally operating a computer-operated business in the island nation, violating the relaxed tourist visa norms, authorities said on Wednesday.

The 21 Indian men in the age group of 24 to 25, who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, were detained on Tuesday by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, a senior immigration officer said on the condition of anonymity.

After a preliminary inquiry, the department raided a rented house in the popular western coast resort town of Negombo, where those arrested were found operating a computer-operated business.

“They had rented a house and were involved in some computer-operated business”, the official said, adding that the nature of their business was yet to be identified.

“We have served removal notices on them and moved them to the Welisara detention centre. They will be deported once the investigations are over,” the official added.

Those who visit the island nation on tourist visas are prohibited from engaging in any paid or unpaid work, according to Sri Lankan law.

The Indian nationals had used the free-of-charge visa condition that Sri Lanka has granted to a set of countries till March 31 as part of an ongoing pilot project to promote tourism in the cash-strapped country, a newspaper reported on the incident.

The accused had arrived in Sri Lanka in February and March on tourist visas, according to the reports.

The immigration authorities said that they have received many complaints about Russian and Ukrainian tourists doing illegal business in the island nation while on tourist visas.

India is generally Sri Lanka's biggest inbound tourism market. In February, with over 30,000 arrivals, India was placed second to the arrivals from the Russian Federation at over 32,000.

Sri Lanka now has a free visa regime for tourists from countries like India, China, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.