Sharp increase in asylum seekers - Immigration Dept

by Kurulu Kariyakarawana

There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of foreign asylum seekers in the past four years and 411 of them had been repatriated since August, according to the Department of Immigration and Emigration sources.

Since 2010, 1,144 foreigners had arrived in the country on tourist visas and had registered themselves with the resident United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office seeking political refuge and asylum in a third country. Of them 1,000 persons were Pakistani nationals. According to Department statistics, 96 people had sought asylum in 2010, 165 in 2011, 203 in 2012 and 1,497 in 2013. From January 1 to October 31,422 persons had registered themselves as asylum seekers.

When contacted Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Nihal Ranasinghe said these people had arrived in the country on tourist visas and applied for asylum by first registering themselves with the UNHCR.

"The asylum seekers arrive in Sri Lanka as a transit point to go to a third country. Sri Lanka does not grant refuge status to asylum seekers but facilitates them to apply for asylum in another country by honouring the international convention for refugees", he said.

The UNHCR peruses these cases to study the genuineness of each applicant seeking refugee status in a third country. When an applicant is found to be genuine he is nominated as a refugee. Apart from the registered asylum seekers, the UNHCR has nominated 370 persons as refugees to date seeking temporary shelter in Sri Lanka.

The Government decided last August to repatriate the remaining asylum seekers who were not declared refugees. "Therefore, we are sending them back to their own countries at government expense. Three hundred and sixty three Pakistani nationals and 68 Afghan nationals had been repatriated since August," he said.