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Repatriating Sri Lankans: Over 50,000 await repatriation

25 Dec 2020

While the Foreign Ministry reintroduced the conditional repatriation of Sri Lankans, following the reports of a new strain of Covid-19 with a high virulence being reported in the UK, there are over 50,000 Sri Lankans awaiting repatriation, The Morning learnt. Although the Foreign Ministry earlier this week made an announcement that Sri Lankans who are using commercial flights that are not repatriation flights did not have to obtain prior approval from the Foreign Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), that condition has since been revised.   “At least 56,000 migrant workers were registered to be repatriated by November, and over the past few weeks, 300-400 Sri Lankans have been repatriated on a daily basis. However, with the new strain detected, this number will drop, as we will have to continuously assess the situation in other countries as well,” Foreign Ministry on Covid-19 Action Director General – East Asia Kandeepan Balasubramaniam told The Morning. Flights arriving from the UK were suspended from 22 December onwards, with the Foreign Ministry stating that once the situation has been reappraised, the revised guidelines on repatriation will be issued. Speaking to The Morning, the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) said: “We are unable to say the exact number of Sri Lankans who are awaiting repatriation, as the number of people registering under the government repatriation process has now slowed down,” adding: “Only if the migrant worker’s employment contract was coming to an end, they would apply to be repatriated.”


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