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An estimated 2,000 housewives, most of them hailing from states in south India, are living with their husbands of Indian origin for the past several years.
Indians hailing from Maharashtra and Gujarat had come to the then Ceylon during the pre-independence era and settled down for business. Though they have acquired Sri Lankan citizenship, their spouses continue to be Indian citizens.
All these years, these non-Sri Lankan spouses had been renewing their residence visa annually without any fee and, hence, the latest decision of the government has worried them.
An official of the Immigration and Emigration Department said he was getting several representations requesting 'waiving off' of the spouse visa fee.
''This is a budget proposal and only the finance ministry can do something,'' he said.
The budget proposal clearly states that 'all tax exemptions, including visa fee, hitherto given to all categories of people, should be withdrawn'.
However, the diplomatic community has been exempted from the visa tax.
An angry housewife said, ''We are not employed and have no earnings. How can we pay a monthly fee of Rs 1,700 with the high-cost of living?''
A Sri Lankan Tamil said his wife, who has an Indian passport, is staying in Sri Lanka since 1968. "All these years I have never paid a single penny as visa fee for my wife. Now the government has proposed to levy such a big amount. For a person with a fixed income, it is a heavy burden,'' he said.
P P Devaraj, member of Parliament and president of the PIO (People of Indian Origin), said he had received several representations to take up the matter with the government. He said he had already brought the matter to the notice of Deputy Finance Minister G L Peiris.
Last year, the government had doubled the residence visa fee of foreign nationals employed and staying in Sri Lanka to Rs 15,000. This year, they have to pay Rs 20,000, an increase of Rs 5,000.
UNI
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