Sri Lankans in Italy to be assisted amidst amnesty program for immigrants

COLOMBO (News1st): Sri Lanka's foreign missions in Italy will assist more than 10,000 Sri Lankans seeking visa assistance, the foreign ministry said, after Italy granted an amnesty period for undocumented immigrants. "The Sri Lanka Missions in Rome and Milan have commenced the special consular service, for the applicants to receive their original passports," the foreign ministry said in a statement. It added that applicants will have to fix an appointment, through an online system, and comply with health protocols amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy's amnesty programme, “Sanatoria 2020”, will run from June 1 to July 15, and will allow irregular immigrant workers to regularise their visa status and obtain legal stay permit for work purposes. Accordingly, Sri Lanka's embassy in Rome has arranged an online mobile service for Sri Lankans in Sicily Island to apply for passports in order to regularize their visa status.

"The special online mobile service will be held on June 14 commencing from 9.00 am onwards in Catania, Sicily Island," the foreign ministry's statement read.

Applicants will be interviewed through video conferencing, with the process set to take place by email.

The embassy will accept applications for passports before June 30, to regularize the visas of applicants