COLOMBO – The last batch of 103 Sri Lankan migrant workers detained in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for various reasons but primarily overstaying their visa were repatriated and arrived in Colombo on Wednesday (19) via Saudi Airlines SV 786.
A statement from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah, said the repatriation was the last leg of a process initiated by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in April 2021. It said, with Wednesday’s repatriation, a total of 180 individuals comprising 49 females and 131 males have been brought back to Sri Lanka.
It also noted that since July 2020, 334 Sri Lankan deportees have returned to Sri Lanka from Saudi Arabia and that the repatriation process of deportation camp inmates is a result of an ongoing collaboration between the Saudi authorities and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah.
-ENCL