Foreigners in large numbers who arrive in the country on tourist visas are illegally engaged in various trades and businesses which is detrimental to the job opportunities for locals, a number of entrepreneurs and industrialists in the Galle district alleged.
They said this practice is common in the tourist industry and other commercial undertakings along the coastal belt from Bentota to Ahangama.
These foreigners who arrive on tourist visas are operating restaurants, massage clinics and various tourism-related trades in buildings they have rented out.
Some are hawking textiles and other items in various areas of the district. Some visitors work as chefs in certain tourist hotels and as labourers in several worksites, the locals said.
On inquiry about the alleged problem, a high-ranking police official said the Department of Emigration and Immigration had the authority to investigate such charges and if the Department asked for their support, the Police Department was ready to extend their fullest cooperation.
The police official also said that recently they arrested 14 Chinese nationals working at a worksite in Dadella, Galle and initiated legal action against them.
Subsequently, they were fined and banished from the country on court order.
The police take all possible measures to halt such misuse of tourist visas within the limits of their authority, he said.
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