Budget proposes dual-citizenship fee waiver for diaspora family members
Foreign travel documents shown for illustration, not Sri Lankan citizenship papers or programme approval.
Sri Lanka's 2027 Budget proposes a Global Sri Lankan Heritage Citizen programme connecting second- and third-generation Sri Lankans overseas with the country. Published reporting indicates a fee waiver for the spouse and children of a dual-citizenship applicant and for third-generation children. This is not automatic citizenship or confirmation that every descendant can already apply free of charge.
The proposed family fee waiver does not establish that the main applicant’s fee would also be waived. The aim is to bring overseas Sri Lankans' knowledge, skills and connection to their ancestral country into its development. A family fee waiver should not be described as removal of the main applicant's fee or of all citizenship requirements.
The Immigration and Emigration Department's published dual-citizenship page checked on November 12 still lists US$2,000 for the main applicant and US$500 each for a spouse and an unmarried child below 22. It also requires a separate application for each family member. Those published existing rules are different from the Budget proposal; this report has not verified a new departmental notice putting the proposed waiver into force.
