A visa for bringing in expertise and expanding tourism

In this article, I introduce an idea which is simple to implement but is powerful and helps with building technical skills, strengthening the country brand and creating international opportunities for Sri Lankans. Furthermore, it can diversify and extend the country's tourism revenue streams.

- BY GEHAN DE SILVA WIJEYERATNE

The simple idea is to introduce a hassle-free visa for Internships, Volunteering, Expert Exchange Programs and Short-term Studies. For brevity, let me call it a Knowledge Transfer Visa or KTV. There are three important clarifications to make up-front. Firstly, this visa is not for those seeking paid employment in Sri Lanka. Secondly, the local partner needs to ensure that if any local permits or permissions are applicable, these are in place and cover any KTV holders. Thirdly, it is not a resident's visa and tourist rates will have to be paid by KTV holders for their sightseeing.

It is also important to spell out up-front a critical requirement for success. This is that an applicant from a country who is entitled to obtain an online tourist visa quickly and easily should be able to obtain a KTV with the same ease and convenience. It would be reasonable for the Department of Immigration to have an additional information box in the visa application to ask for the name and contact details of the local partner (corporate or individual). But it should not be the role of the visa issuing officer in a Sri Lankan foreign mission or the Department of Immigration to examine paperwork to assess the credentials of the visitor and the local partner. This should be left to the applicant and local partner to assess each other. By analogy, a tourist is not asked to demonstrate that the hotel they have booked into is validly registered as a tourism business. Nor does the visa issuing process ask the hotel if they have vetted the tourist's ability to pay. If the KTV is kept as simple as an online tourist visa, it will succeed, otherwise it will fail to deliver the potential benefits.