The party’s over for Russians in Sri Lanka after ‘whites only’ event fuels outrage
Sri Lankan officials said they were canceling long-term tourist visa extensions amid outrage over a “whites only” party planned at a Russian-run nightclub.
The party may be over for thousands of Russian tourists who moved to Sri Lanka amid the war in Ukraine.
Authorities in the South Asian island nation said this week they were canceling long-term tourist visa extensions — a move that coincides with outrage over what appeared to be a “whites only” event organized by a Russian-run nightclub in a popular resort town.
But the debt-stricken island’s president raised doubts over whether his government would go through with the cancellations, which would threaten a much-needed source of tourist income.
Russian and Ukrainian tourists must leave Sri Lanka by March 7 after the expiration of their final free visa extension, according to a notice issued by the Tourism Development Authority. The Immigration Department had said last month that the visas were being extended due to the “non-operation of airlines in the region.”
However, President Ranil Wickremesinghe ordered an investigation into the notice, saying the visas could not be canceled without cabinet approval.
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