Dr Sarath Obeysekera

My wife and I recently arrived in Colombo from Singapore on a late-night flight. As dual citizens, I hold both a Sri Lankan passport and a British passport. As is my usual practice, I presented both passports to the immigration officer, since officers typically request to see them.

To my surprise, the officer stated that his system did not show that I was a dual citizen. He was holding my British passport and said, Your dual citizenship is not indicated, and you cannot enter.” I immediately informed him that I had also handed over my Sri Lankan passport, where my dual citizenship status is clearly mentioned.

He appeared hesitant to proceed with stamping the passports. My wife and I were already very tired due to a delayed UL flight and it was well past midnight. Despite my natural frustration in such situations, I remained calm and asked him what needed to be done. He responded that this was a system problem.”

I explained that I am a citizen of this country, holding a valid Sri Lankan passport, and that I have traveled in and out of Sri Lanka many times over the years without facing such an issue. This was the first time I encountered such difficulty.

Fortunately, the lady officer seated next to him, wearing a headscarf, intervened and advised him to allow us to enter. Eventually, he said he would enter into the system” that I am a dual citizen. I remarked that if there was a system requirement, immigration authorities should have updated such records 10–15 years ago, given that my dual citizenship is long-standing.

After some further processing, he finally stamped both passports and allowed us to enter.

This experience raises some questions:
• Why was a valid Sri Lankan passport not sufficient proof of citizenship?
• Why was dual citizenship information apparently missing from the system?
• Are dual citizens at risk of unnecessary inconvenience due to database gaps?
• Was this simply inexperience, or something else?

As senior citizens arriving late at night, we did not expect to face uncertainty about entry into our own country.

I sincerely hope the relevant authorities review such procedures to ensure that dual citizens are treated with clarity, efficiency, and respect.

I repatriated back for to my own motherland and getting my foreign pension in Sri Lanka and contributing to our national coffers I expect better treatment

—
Sarath Obeysekera

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera