BY Dinitha Rathnayake
A report and petition with 10,000 signatures of Sri Lankans residing in Italy on the problems faced in obtaining visas to Italy has been submitted to the Government.
Speaking to The Morning, the “Ithaliye Api” organisation’s Legal Consultant Attorney-at-Law (AAL) Piyal Darshana Guruge said that the report was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Foreign Ministry Secretary Amiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, Defence Secretary Gen. (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, and the Criminal Investigations Department.
He also said that a discussion on the progress of these activities was held with Co-ordinating Secretaries of the Foreign Minister Siripala Munasinghe and A.A.L Yajish Tennakoon on Monday (28 February).
“During the discussion, we were informed that Prof. Peiris is paying attention to this matter and making the necessary arrangements.” It was also learned that Gen. (Retd.) Gunaratne has brought the relevant report to the attention of the Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka.
According to the report, several issues have been highlighted related to the Italian visa facilitating company called Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) Global.
“Sri Lankans have to face a lot of difficulties when they apply for the Italian visa through VFS Global when compared to applying for visas for other European countries. From getting an appointment to hand over the visa documents to the certification of the documents, they go through a hard time. It is not like in any other VFS office that represents other European countries. This is an unvoiced and unsolved issue that has been festering for a long time,” Guruge claimed.
Sri Lankans in Italy submit petition to GoSL over visa issues
04 Mar 2022
Sri Lankans in Italy submit petition to GoSL over visa issues
04 Mar 2022