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Digital nomad visa in two weeks

31 Aug 2021

  • Visa period one year, $ 600 fee set
  • Ministry says digital nomad tourism fastest-growing segment
By Cassendra Doole The proposed digital nomad visa will be implemented mid-September 2021, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Speaking to The Morning Business, Ministry of Tourism Secretary S. Hettiarachchi said that the implementation is pending an observation from the Department of Immigration and Emigration. “We have prepared and submitted the cabinet paper and sent it to the Department of Immigration and Emigration for their observations. We are currently expecting them to get back to us soon,” he said, adding: “If this approval is granted, we can commence the digital nomad visa as soon as mid-September. We are awaiting the cabinet decision, where they want the Immigration observations.” Digital tourism is a novel method of travel that was created due to the pandemic situation affecting the globe. It is mainly identified as tourists who travel by using digital technology for a living. Digital tourists – referred to more commonly as “digital nomads” – often stay in public libraries or cafes to provide their services online.  Thus, these tourists are attracted to long-term visas, high-speed internet connections for communication, affordable accommodation, tax exemption for earnings, etc., which is what the Government is using to entice them. Sources from the Ministry of Tourism, speaking to The Morning Business earlier, said that the visa fee for digital nomad visa is proposed to be at $ 600. The Government took the decision to attract “digital nomads”, as it is a fast-growing segment within the global travel and tourism industry, with long-term, one-year visas. The digital nomad concept was mainly borne out of the need to “work from anywhere” after the pandemic. Many tourist attractions such as Thailand’s Chiang Mai, Portugal’s Lisbon, Colombia’s Medellin, and Indonesia’s Bali have taken strenuous steps to promote digital tourism. The Ministry added that Sri Lanka soon hopes to become among the top favourites for digital tourists. Further, promoting digital tourism can easily be done in accordance with the health guidelines required due to the pandemic situation. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism further stated that the free visa on arrival proposal that was implemented after the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019 will not be repeated during the foreseeable future as it will not be feasible. “We did consider this proposal at first, but according to observations and data put forth by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, this course of action will not be feasible during this time,” Hettiarachchi said. The Government of Sri Lanka offered free tourism visas on arrival to citizens of almost 50 countries following the Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019. The offer remained up to six months in order to boost tourism within the country. Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is among the top three foreign exchange-earning sources of the country. Even before the closure of the airport to mitigate the spread of the virus, Sri Lanka was struggling to attract tourists since the early weeks of last year, mainly due to stringent travel restrictions that were imposed in China – which is among the top five tourism-generating markets of Sri Lanka – and then the subsequent global spread of the virus. Tourism arrivals had been gradually recovering after the Easter attacks last year and the reported arrivals into the country stood at 1.9 million in 2019, compared to 2.3 million in 2018. However, they once again began to decline following the virus.


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