The Hon. Arun Hemachandra - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, I table the answer.

¶ 02 (a) (i) Yes.

¶ 03 (ii) The Government of Sri Lanka has not entered into a formal agreement with the Government of the Republic of Korea to enable Sri Lankans to work in South Korea under the E-8 visa scheme. Further, recruitment on E-8 category visas is a process conducted between two governments and cannot be carried out by private parties. Therefore, persons who arrived to depart for employment under that visa category had to be turned back at the airport.

¶ 04 (iii) Under the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act, registration is not possible for deployment under the E-8 visa category; hence one cannot legally migrate for employment under E-8. The E-8 visa is a short-term (5-8 months) seasonal visa. Considering the expenses paid to secure employment and the short-term income earned, the benefits are relatively low compared to the costs. Investigations by the Bureau have revealed that an excessive amount of around Rs. 1,200,000 has been charged from each worker to provide such employment. After that period, they must return to Sri Lanka and go again for the next season. However, to recoup their expenses, there is a risk that they may overstay and remain illegally after the visa expires. This could seriously and adversely affect the Employment Permit System (EPS), implemented under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of the Republic of Korea since 2004, which annually provides employment opportunities to about 6,000 Sri Lankan youth, potentially leading to a reduction or suspension of the quota.

¶ 05 (iv) In respect of seven persons who were attempted to be sent illegally for employment in South Korea, the total amount paid by them has been recovered from the relevant institution through legal action, and the licence of that institution has been suspended. The amount is about Rs. 7.1 million. If there are other parties who have similarly paid money and they lodge complaints with proper evidence to the Bureau, steps can be taken to recover such monies through legal processes. In addition, a Cabinet Memorandum and a Concept Report have been prepared to implement a pilot project to deploy workers to Korea under this visa category and have been submitted to the Cabinet for a policy decision.

¶ 06 (b) Not applicable.