The Cabinet has decided to adopt a lenient policy in including previous offences and minor offences in the police clearance report to be obtained while leaving for foreign employment.
Many people seeking jobs abroad have faced difficulties in finding opportunities because their police reports include minor offences. To address this, the government is requesting a more lenient approach in these cases. The decision was made after considering the requests from job seekers.
Under the new policy, certain offences will not be included in the police reports:
Dishonest use under Section 378 of the Penal Code, Criminal breach of trust under Section 389 to Section 392 of the Penal Code, Under Section 400 to Section 403 of the Penal Code, cheating, drugs, and opium, related cases assigned before the Magistrate’s Court under the Medicines Ordinance Act are the ones selected not to include in the police reports.
Additionally, if a person has been acquitted of a legal matter, it will not be necessary to include it in the police clearance report.
However, the Cabinet has decided that offences related to national security and those under acts introduced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act should still be included in the police clearance report.
Foreign job seekers had raised concerns about losing job opportunities, especially for jobs in Korea and other countries, due to minor offences and past acquittals appearing in their police reports.
The Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, brought these concerns to the attention of the Cabinet and requested a more lenient policy for submitting police reports.
