RIYADH, 9 April 2005 — The Controller of Immigration and Emigration in Colombo has announced that the backlog of passports submitted for renewal by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh would be cleared within two weeks.
He was responding to an Arab News report that cited the difficulties faced by Sri Lankan expatriates in Saudi Arabia who had applied for new passports through the Sri Lankan missions in Riyadh and Jeddah three months ago.
The new Controller of Immigration and Emigration, P.B. Abeykoon, who assumed duties this week, told Arab News over the phone that he had already given instructions to clear all delayed passport applications from Riyadh and Jeddah missions.
More than 400 passports of Sri Lankan expatriates in the Kingdom were held up in Colombo causing great inconvenience to the applicants who can neither travel nor renew their expired iqamas without these valid documents.
Charge d’Affairs of the Sri Lankan Embassy S. Wijesundara acknowledged that action is being taken in Colombo as a result of a report published in Arab News on March 31.
