The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the answer to the Question raised by Hon. Kader Masthan under Standing Order 27(2) is as follows: 1) The Consular Affairs Branch of the Department of Immigration and Emigration handles renewals of passports for Sri Lankans abroad and issuance of new passports for their newborn children. From receipt at the Department, approximate processing times are: - Middle East region: about 1 month; - Other regions (Asia-Pacific, Africa): about 2 months; - North America and Europe: about 3 months.

¶ 02 The Middle East receives the highest volume and a large Sri Lankan migrant workforce resides there; hence priority is accorded. For Europe, a larger volume of documentation and verification via databases is required, thus a longer timeframe.

¶ 03 The Department issued Circular No. OM/2021/01 dated 27.12.2021, revising documentary requirements for applications via Missions; issuance is done accordingly. (Annex 01 tabled.)

¶ 04 2) Applications and issuances: - Year 2024: Applications received — 61,229; Passports issued — 59,285; Balance pending — about 1,900. - Year 2025 (to date): Applications received — 52,868; Passports issued — 44,805.

¶ 05 (Placed in the Library.)

¶ 06 3) Due to a shortage in passport stocks in 2024, issuance could not always be completed within the indicative timeframes above. However, issuance for overseas Sri Lankans is now proceeding within the stipulated timeframes. Document accuracy must be verified against databases of the Department for Registration of Persons, the Registrar General’s Department and the Department of Immigration and Emigration. If discrepancies arise, Missions inform applicants to provide correct documents; this can cause additional time in some cases.

¶ 07 4) No irregularities have so far been identified or reported.

¶ 08 Additionally, the Ministries of Public Security and of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism jointly presented a Cabinet Memorandum dated 30.06.2025 to obtain approval for online passport applications through Sri Lankan Missions/Posts abroad. Pursuant to Cabinet Decision No. AM/25/1200/821/028 of 14.07.2025, under Phase 1, with financial support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 20 Missions/Posts (listed below) will be equipped with Biometric Enrollment Units by end-2025 or in the first quarter of 2026. This will enable faster issuance than at present.

¶ 09 Proposed Phase-1 Missions for Biometric Enrollment Units: 1. Australia — SLCG Melbourne 2. Bahrain — SLEMB Manama 3. Canada — SLCG Toronto 4. France — SLEMB Paris 5. Germany — SLEMB Berlin 6. Israel — SLEMB Tel Aviv 7. Italy — SLCG Milan 8. Romania — SLEMB Bucharest 9. Japan — SLEMB Tokyo 10. Kuwait — SLEMB Kuwait City 11. New Zealand — SLHC Wellington 12. Oman — SLEMB Muscat 13. Qatar — SLEMB Doha 14. South Korea — SLEMB Seoul 15. Saudi Arabia — SLCG Jeddah 16. Saudi Arabia — SLEMB Riyadh 17. United Arab Emirates — SLCG Dubai 18. United Kingdom — SLHC London 19. United States of America — SLEMB Washington, D.C. 20. Cyprus — SLEMB Nicosia

¶ 10 That is the answer.