Sri Lanka Eases Refugee Return From India With New Immigration Measures

Sri Lanka's government has approved special immigration arrangements to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees in India who left the island nation without valid travel documents during its decades-long civil war, according to a cabinet note issued here on Tuesday. 

The measures, to be implemented for those returning under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), are aimed at removing legal hurdles faced by refugees who left Sri Lanka through unauthorised routes.

Under the approved



arrangements, Sri Lankan nationals who left the country before August 1, 2006 without using a passport will be screened by the State Intelligence Service to verify that they have not been accused of murder, treason or other specified offences, it said. 

Those cleared through the screening process will be allowed to enter Sri Lanka through an authorised airport or port on temporary passports, without being subject to legal proceedings under the country's immigration law for their unauthorised departure, the cabinet note said.