Labor Minister Manusha Nanayakkara told Parliament during the committee stage debate on the expenditure heading of the Ministry of Labor that the licenses of the owners of 400 foreign employment agencies have been banned for sending people abroad on tourist visas because they failed to submit information about it.
He also mentioned that many other foreign employment agency agencies that brought commission money in the form of “Undials” (using other methods) without earning money through proper channels and converting them to dollars were also temporarily banned. The minister said
“We are doing a very good job of regulating the owners of foreign employment agencies.” So far, 400 agencies have been banned for sending them on visit visas without providing the necessary information. Also, there are temporary bans on agencies that brought their commission money to Sri Lanka through the Undial system instead of bringing it to Sri Lanka in dollars. A system of issuing permits has been developed. Previously, it was 75,000, but in a few days, a permit will cost 3 million rupees.
