Colombo: It emerged on Tuesday that the cash-strapped Sri Lanka would sell long-term visas to attract desperately needed foreign currency after the island nation ran out of dollars to pay for food and fuel. The government announced that the foreigners who deposit a minimum of $100,000 locally will be granted permission to live and work in Sri Lanka for 10 years under the “Golden Paradise Visa Programme”. “This scheme will help Sri Lanka at a time when we are facing the worst financial crisis since our independence,” media minister Nalaka Godahewa told.
