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President to get power to extend PR from 5 to 10 years
View(s):The Government is to extend the period of granting Permanent Resident (PR) visas from the existing five years to ten years while vesting the power of determining the period to the Minister in charge — Minister of Defence
According to a bill published this week by the Ministry of Defence to amend the Immigrants and Emigrants Act, the Minister in Charge is vested with powers to extend the period from five years up to ten years. The Immigration and Emigration Controller General, who is the initial PR visa issuing authority, is empowered to grant visas up to five years from the existing two-year limit.
Accordingly, determining the extending period from five years to ten years would be under the discretion of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his capacity as Minister of Defence.