The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, thank you for this opportunity. I wish to inform the public and Members about converting foreign driving licences and issuing temporary licences to foreign visitors.

¶ 02 History: - Vehicle registration and driver licensing began with Ordinance No. 14 of 1916, implemented by the Inspector General of Police. - The Motor Car Ordinance No. 20 of 1927 established the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (RMV). - The Motor Traffic Ordinance No. 45 of 1938 further developed the framework. - The Motor Traffic Act No. 14 of 1951 established the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT), with functions including registration, transfer, licensing, technical services, emission control and road safety policy.

¶ 03 Issuing temporary licences to foreigners at ports: - Under Act No. 21 of 1955, Government Agents (District Secretaries) of Mannar, Trincomalee and Galle were empowered to issue driving licences to visitors lawfully arriving by sea at Talaimannar, Trincomalee and Galle Harbours.

¶ 04 With the establishment of DMT district offices under District Secretariats, all licence functions were taken over by the DMT.

¶ 05 Current practice: - Conversion of foreign licences and issuance of temporary driving permits have long been done by the DMT Head Office (Werahera/Piliyandala), and continue.

¶ 06 Fees: - Under Gazette Extraordinary No. 2301/17 of 10.10.2022, a temporary driving licence for one month is issued for Rs. 2,000.

¶ 07 Airport counter: - During the economic crisis, steps were initiated to open an airport counter to issue temporary licences and a fee schedule was proposed; Treasury approval was obtained in 2023. The Treasury Secretary has since discussed further steps to finalize fees.

¶ 08 Clarifications: 1) Is issuing at BIA new? No. Legal provision existed since 1955 at specified ports; for decades, DMT HO handled conversions. Establishing a counter at BIA streamlines access, reducing time and curbing exploitative brokerage where, despite a Rs. 2,000 government fee, intermediaries were charging USD 60–100, harming tourism and our country’s image.

¶ 09 2) Three-wheelers: We do not issue temporary licences to foreigners for three-wheelers under this scheme, considering both tourist safety and the livelihoods in the local three-wheeler sector.

¶ 10 3) Commercial/public transport: No foreign tourist is permitted to hire for reward any vehicle to operate as public transport. Temporary licences are restricted to light vehicles for private, personal use of the visitor and family. No public transport licences are issued at BIA or Werahera.

¶ 11 Industry engagement: - Tourism stakeholders have raised that Rs. 2,000 is too low. While the current fee is per Gazette, we intend to propose a revised fee structure to Cabinet and, upon approval, will Gazette the new fees for temporary foreign tourist licences.

¶ 12 Thank you.