1. Introduction

This guideline applies to all State Universities and Postgraduate Institutions that handle the visa matters of Foreign Students and Foreign Academics. This includes necessary guidelines on how State Universities and Postgraduate Institutions can obtain visa approval by coordinating with the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

a. Legal Framework:

Approval received from Ministry of Public Security by their letter No PS/10/01/27/2023 dated 14.08.2024

Approval received from Department of Immigration and Emigration by their letter No DIE/VISA/EDUCATION dated 30.07.2024

2. Eligibility Criteria

1. Only foreign students/academics whose security clearance is satisfied by the Government of Sri Lanka are eligible to carry out studies/teaching activities in Sri Lanka.
2. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka should satisfy with the purpose for which the applicants are entering Sri Lanka
3. Applicants should hold a passport valid for a minimum period of six months from the date they arrive in Sri Lanka.
4. Sri Lanka Immigration & Emigration should satisfy that applicants possess sufficient financial resources to cover their living expenses during their stay in Sri Lanka, as well as to ensure their return travel to the country of their passport issuance.
5. US Fulbright grantees are eligible for no-fee (gratis) visa as per the provisions of bilateral agreement signed between United States of America and Sri Lanka.

3. Application Process for Entry Visa

Step 1:

When a request is received from a Foreign student/Academic/Dependent, the respective university should obtain security clearance from the Ministry of Defence by submitting the soft copies of the following documents to the email: cniofficemod@gmail.com

1. Police Clearance report obtained within 6 months from the country of domicile
2. Bio Page of the passport
3. Acceptance/Appointment letter of the Student/Academic issued by the pertinent university in Sri Lanka
4. For academics intending to work in Sri Lanka on a paid basis, it is required to submit a prior approval letter signed by the Secretary, Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education along with the appointment letter issued by the pertinent university.

Step 2:

Once the security clearance is received from the Ministry of Defence, the University should submit the hard copies of the following documents to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

1. Bio page of the passport
2. Request letter of the University
3. Defence clearance letter issued by the Ministry of Defence

Step 3: Visa Issuance

Visa approval will be notified to the relevant Embassy/High Commission directly with a copy to the pertinent university by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

4. Application Process for Visa Extension

Step 1:

The University should submit the hard copies of the following documents to the Department of Immigration and Immigration.

1. Duly filled application form (Annexurel)
2. Passport
3. Copy of the Bio page of the passport
4. Request letter from the University
5. Health Protection Plan issued by the Inbound Migration Health Assessment Center
6. Duly filled Department of Immigration and Emigration form (DIE Form) with the recommendation of the University (Annexure 2)
7. To facilitate the issuance of visas for monks visiting for academic purposes without incurring any visa fees, the form provided in Annexure 3 is need to be duly completed and submitted to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

Step 2: Visa Issuance

Department of Immigration and Emigration will extend the visa on same day once all above documents were submitted to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

5. Responsibilities of the Universities

Student Support: Universities must undertake all necessary measures to facilitate the visa approval process by providing the required documentation and guidance to the applicants.

Reporting Requirements: Each University should maintain an updated Excel sheet uploaded in Google Drive, adhering to the format (Annexure 04 & 05) attached hereto giving access to this Ministry (email: visa-ovse@mohe.gov.lk) and UGC (chairman@ugc.ac.lk) for the recording purpose.

6. Contact Information

University Grants Commission

Tel No: 0112696511

Email: chairman@ugc.ac.lk

Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

Tel No: 0112688621/0112690955/0114849135

Email: visa-ovse@mohe.gov.lk, d-ovse@mohe.gov.lk. ad-ovse@mohe.gov.lk.

Department of Immigration and Emigration

Tel No: 0112101500/0112101540

Email: controller@immigration.gov.lk, eduvisa@immigration.gov.lk. visaimm2023@gmail.com. ccvisa@immigration.gov.lk

Ministry of Defence

Tel No: 0112430860 Ext: 10367

Email: cniofficemod@gmail.com

7. Annexures

Annexure 1: Application Form - Click

Annexure 2: DIE Form - Click

Annexure 3: Free visa form for monks - Click

Annexure 4: Reporting documents - Click

Annexure 5: Reporting documents - Click

8. Revision and Review

Revision and the review of these Guidelines are subject to the decisions taken by the pertinent authorities in Visa Approval process and all the universities will be informed any future amendments officially.