Resident visa scheme to woo retired foreign nationals

By Nilma Dole

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The Government has given approval to the Department of Immigration and Emigration to go ahead with a special resident visa scheme that would woo senior foreign nationals on retirement to spend the rest of their life in the country.

The Department expects its new scheme - a dream home for foreigners would attract more senior foreign nationals to the country with their savings which would contribute to boost the national economy especially in tourism, real estate and other related sectors which have currently faced a setback due to the drop in the number of tourists.

Controller General, P. B. Abeykoon said the previous scheme offered tourists a visiting visa that was valid for six months which had to be renewed.

“We noticed that it was a common practice among foreigners to leave for the Maldives and return on the same day via the returning flight just to change their visa”, he said.

“Hence, wasting money in making the trip to the Maldives to change your visa is not required and this can be utilised to help the nation’s economy”, he said. Under this scheme, foreign applicants should remit US$15,000 or the equivalent in an approved foreign currency and deposit them in a fixed deposit account in an approved commercial bank.

They should deposit a monthly remittance of US$ 1,500 or equivalent in an approved foreign currency for the principal applicant and US$ 750 or the equivalent in approved foreign currency for each spouse and dependant child (if accompanied by spouse/children) to a savings or current account for their upkeep.

This residence visa issued is valid for a maximum of two years and is renewable depending on the conduct of the visa holder. “We will review the scheme to check whether it is suitable and whether the foreigners will benefit from it”, said Abeykoon.

The advantages of foreigners staying in the country are beneficial for tourism, real estate and also domestic employment.

They can enjoy Sri Lanka’s weather, take nature trips, research and also enjoy the local culture. He said that Sri Lanka’s climate and cost-of-living is relatively economical for foreigners and they can enjoy themselves in the country-side and rural areas.

As soon as the program was launched last month, foreigners took maximum advantage of the scheme and by saving the unnecessary trip to the Maldives, they took a holiday here, he said.