– Parliament today approved the regulations under the Immigration and Emigration Act which would allow free visa facility for 40 countries as proposed by the government in a move to boost tourism.

Public Security and Parliament Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament that regulations made under the Immigration and Emigration Act will provide free visa facility to 40 countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the UAE, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and Thailand.

The Minister said the free visa facility was earlier available only for China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and Thailand.

He said according to the new regulations, free visit visa will be granted for thirty days.

The Minister said however, all other procedures will have to be adhered to by the visitors of those countries and that only the visa fee will be waived off adding that they need to obtain the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).

He said due to the free visa facility, some USD 75 million loss is expected to the government and pointed out that however, it is estimated that the free visa facility will bring 247,000 more tourists to the country.

“It is estimated to generate USD 317 million due to additional tourist arrivals. This will bring a net profit of USD 242 million,” he said.