A large number of Sri Lankans who migrated overseas during the conflict are applying for either Sri Lankan citizenship or dual citizenship, Cabinet spokesman and Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday. He said the Immigration and Emigration Department would be fully computerised to facilitate this process. The Cabinet has the green light to the Immigration and Emigration Department to obtain Scanning and e-documentation equipment to process the applications and check the relevant documents submitted to the Department for this purpose.

The minister said a large number of applications together with supporting documents have been submitted to the Department to obtain dual citizenship, the registering the birth of children born overseas and to obtain visit visas. He said it was proposed to launch the project to store such applications and documents in an electronic document archive. This will speed up the visa and citizenship issuance process and upgrade the record management system.

The minister said with the dawning of peace in 2009 there had been a huge demand for citizenship from expatriate Sri Lankans who emigrated during the war and from their siblings for dual citizenship.

“The older people are keen on resettling in their places of origin and live a peaceful life at their ancestral homes. Their siblings born and bred in foreign lands want dual citizenship to keep a tag on the welfare of their parents in Sri Lanka and to visit them regularly. That is the reason why they are applying for dual citizenship and the government is taking steps to facilitate the process,” the minister said.

The Cabinet proposal was made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Defence and Urban Development.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka