• Considers extension beyond current 5-year limit
• Decision due to high popularity among investors
• Significant number of applicants already enrolled 

The Board of Investment (BOI) is considering extending the duration of its long-term residence visa programme offered to investors, stakeholders, and BOI enterprises beyond the current five-year limit.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, BOI Director General Renuka M. Weerakone stated that the five-year residence visa programme had proven to be highly popular among investors, with a significant number of applicants having already enrolled under the scheme.

She pointed out that the convenience offered by the long-term residence visa programme, when compared to the previous mandatory one-year renewal, had proven particularly attractive to long-term investors.

“We have investors who have been with us for over 40 years. Obviously, it is much more convenient than doing the yearly renewal. So yes, there have been many takers,” she stated.

Weerakone further revealed that the BOI was presently considering extending the duration of the programme beyond the existing five-year period.

“We have a visa programme where we give up to five years for a CEO or an investor. But we are relooking at extending it for a longer term. That is something we will study and then announce,” she stated.

In 2022, the Board of Investment launched the five-year residence visa programme dedicated to investors, stakeholders, and BOI enterprises under the initiative introduced by then Investment Promotion Minister Dhammika Perera.