Colombo: Sri Lanka on Thursday announced a new scheme to encourage those who have settled abroad to return home under a plan to revamp its dual citizenship laws.
Under the new scheme called `Overseas Sri Lankans`, facilities would be extended to persons who have terminated their Sri Lanka citizenship to enter Sri Lanka and to stay in the country, said Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, the acting government spokesperson. Abeywardene said the Local Citizenship Act would be amended accordingly. The new criterion for dual citizenship is to ensure that Sri Lanka would benefit by the scheme, he said.
The government, early last year, had announced that the existing dual citizenship laws needed a review and suspended the dual citizenship scheme. It was estimated that more than 3,500 people of Sri Lankan-origin who hold citizenship in foreign countries had enjoyed the dual citizenship status up until then. At the time of review a person seeking dual citizenship in Sri Lanka was required to hold a university degree or at least a two-year diploma.
PTI