Sri Lanka said on Sunday it had ended extensions of long-term tourist visas for thousands of Russians and Ukrainians who had used the policy to live on the island since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
“The government will not extend visas further,” Immigration chief Harsha Ilukpitiya told AFP, giving a departure deadline of March 7.
“The flight situation has now normalized and they have no difficulty coming back.”
According to official figures, more than 288,000 Russians and nearly 20,000 Ukrainians have visited Sri Lanka in the past two years.
It is unclear how many people are staying longer than the usual 30-day tourist visa.
But thousands of Russians and a small number of Ukrainians are believed to have settled in Sri Lanka, some to avoid possible military enlistment.
Some who stayed opened restaurants and opened nightclubs.
The government’s decision comes amid a backlash on social media over a “whites only” party organized by a Russian-run nightclub in the southern coastal resort of Unawatuna.
Sri Lanka is trying to boost tourism by issuing 30-day visas on arrival as the country desperately needs foreign currency as it recovers from its worst economic crisis since mid-2022.
The country defaulted on $46 billion in foreign debt in April 2022, and months of street protests led to the resignation of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa three months later.
A $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout helped stabilize the economy and ended shortages of essential goods such as food, fuel and medicine.
