Electric Vehicle Import Permit Scheme for Foreign Workers

Permit to Import Electric Vehicles for Sri Lankans Working Abroad

A proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet to grant a vehicle import permit for Sri Lankan migrant workers who carry our remittances through legal channels, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said.

He said Sri Lankan migrant workers who use legal channels for remittances will be given a permit to import electric vehicles. Stating that the import of vehicles has been suspended by the government, Minister Nanayakkara said, however, permits will be granted only for Sri Lankan migrant workers who use the official banking channels to send foreign currency. Measures will be taken to enable the electric vehicles that will be imported to be charged via solar power, he said.

The Minister also said that a low-interest housing loan scheme will also be introduced for Sri Lanka migrant workers. “We got US$ 305 million in remittances last month, if we can increase that to 500$-600$ million we can solve much of our problems,” Minister Nanayakkara said. Minister Manusha Nanayakkara made the observation when meeting a group of Sri Lankan migrant workers who are set to depart for Japan and Israel.