Sri Lanka's Visa Controversy: Former Chief Sentenced

Former Sri Lankan immigration chief Harsha Ilukpitiya was sentenced to two years in prison for contempt of court. He defied a Supreme Court order to revert visa processing to an older system. The issue arose with a problematic outsourced system causing delays and higher fees since April 2024.

The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has sentenced Harsha Ilukpitiya, the former Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, to two years of rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court.

Ilukpitiya was found guilty of disregarding a court directive to halt an outsourced electronic tourist visa-on-arrival system, which had been criticized for causing delays and increasing fees since its introduction in April 2024.

The court had deemed the outsourced system problematic and ordered its suspension, which Ilukpitiya failed to implement, resulting in repeated bail denials and ultimately, his sentencing.