Immigration starts promoting Golden Paradise Visa

• Key initiative aimed at boosting tourists, investors and forex inflow

The Department of Immigration and Emigration has begun promoting the issuance of long-term residence visa issuance mechanism online in a bid to attract foreign inflows.

The long-term resident visa program titled ‘Golden Paradise Visa’ enables the issuance of residence visas for 10 years for foreigners who deposit a minimum of $ 100,000 in a commercial bank recognised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The foreigners are eligible to withdraw $ 50,000 after the first year but should maintain a minimum balance of $ 50,000 for the rest of the granted timeline.

“A long-term resident visa program dedicated to investors to enjoy the benefit of the paradise island while contributing and reaping the rewards of the booming economy. Investors and their families will enjoy the lasting benefits of this visa program,” the Department said on its official website.

On 25 April, the Cabinet of Ministers gave its nod to issue 5 to 10-year residence visas for foreigners and directors, their spouses, and their dependents of foreign companies who invest a minimum of $ 75,000 or above in condominium properties in Sri Lanka. The proposal was tabled by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Defence Minister.

The move was to further simplify the issuance of a residence visa for foreign investors under the new methodology, which was endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers on 7 March. As per the Department of Immigration and Emigration website (eservices.immigration.gov.lk/golden-paradise-visa.html), the investors willing to obtain a Golden Paradise Residence Visa can apply for it via four steps which include; submitting application, review information, payment options, and ETA confirmation.

The Golden Paradise Visa application should then be submitted online to [email protected] upon the notification of the Department.

In addition, documents should be submitted to the same email mentioned above which includes; deposit proof documents to confirm the fund transfer, a Police Clearance report obtained by the country of domicile within six months, a medical report from an authorised local hospital, clearing all applicants off of Malaria, Filariasis, Tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, as well as a copy of the Bio Data Page of the passport.

For the spouse and dependents, Marriage Certificates, Police Clearance reports obtained from the country of domicile of the spouse, and birth certificates of dependents should be emailed as well.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration is also charging a visa fee of $ 2,000 for the 10-years.