The Sri Lankan Immigration Department has decided to stop extending visas to Russians free of charge. This came after an incident involving a “white-only” party in a “Russian cafe in the south of the country”, which caused serious controversy due to its discriminatory nature. The office of the President of Sri Lanka denied information about the tightening of the visa regime for Russian citizens and promised to conduct an investigation.
The flight situation has returned to normal
The Sri Lankan authorities have not made a decision to cancel the extension of long-term visas issued to Russian and Ukrainian tourists.
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered an investigation into the notification issued to Russian and Ukrainian tourists, requiring them to leave the country within 14 days,” the presidential press service said.
Thus, the presidential administration responded to information that appeared in the local media about a notification sent out by the country’s immigration department, in which all tourists from the Russian Federation and Ukraine who had been living on the island for a long time were ordered to leave the country by March 7.
The procedure for free visa extension for these categories of citizens has been in effect since February 28, 2022, due to complications with air traffic that occurred after the start of the SVO.
“The flight situation has now normalised and they (Russians and Ukrainians – The Eastern Herald) have no difficulty in getting back,” Srilankan Commissioner-General of Immigration Harsha Ilukpitiya told AFP.
Cancellation of the “white-only” party
Information about the suspension of visa extensions for Russians appeared against the backdrop of news about the behavior of Russian citizens on the island nation.
On February 23, the local Daily Mirror wrote about a ‘whites-only’ party that was to take place at a “Russian cafe in the south of the country”, Sarayka Lounge aka no-natives Lounge.
“The event, which was advertised as the Opening White-Only Party, caused significant controversy due to its discriminatory nature. Organizers intended to implement a face-control policy that would allow entry only to persons deemed suitable by bouncers based on their white skin, wealth, style, or demeanor,” the newspaper wrote.
Due to widespread public outcry, the organizers were forced to cancel the event.
Good evening! We apologize!
The party planned for Saturday will not take place. We have urgently canceled this event. Also, we have severed ties with the organizers who planned this party at our venue. We are a bar and provide our premises for various events. This time we did not conduct a thorough enough check. We have never supported and will never support various racist statements or organizations.
We apologize!
(Owners of Sarayka Lounge)
Sri Lanka is not the only state in which Russian citizens face difficulties. So, last year the Bali authorities complained about them. The governor of the island, Vaian Koster, even proposed returning the quota system for visiting the island for the next 100 years due to the increasing frequency of offenses by tourists. According to him, “most of the violators are from Russia” — 101 tourists have been deported from the island since January, 27 of them were citizens of the Russian Federation. The Indonesian authorities were looking for an opportunity to limit the flow of tourists from the Russian Federation, since, as the island’s administration claimed, Russians “abuse hospitality” – they do not fly away from Bali after the expiration of their visa, remaining to live and work there.
Scandal with a pervert in a hotel
Citizens of the Russian Federation also have questions about the actions of the Sri Lankan authorities. On February 17, the Russian Embassy in Colombo called on Russians permanently residing in Sri Lanka to consider returning to their homeland due to the “increasing number of incidents” involving their compatriots.
The reason for this reaction from the department was the recent case of three Russian women who were harassed by an employee of a local hotel. At the same time, the hotel staff did not want to call the police, and law enforcement officers did not want to accept statements from the victims. Therefore, the Russian embassy intervened in the situation. On February 18, the diplomatic mission assured that the situation on the island was stable and did not pose a threat to life and health so that Russians could continue their vacation in the region.
