Lanka opens door for Tamil refugees, eases return after decades of exile in India

Sri Lanka has opened a new pathway for thousands of refugees living in India to voluntarily return home, easing immigration procedures for those who fled the island nation during its decades-long civil war without valid travel documents.The move is aimed at facilitating an orderly and voluntary return of the refugees, subject to identity, security and legal checks, according to news reports in Sri Lankan media. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Sri Lankan government approved the special mechanism on August 10, following instructions from the Attorney General on providing immigration clearance to refugees seeking to return through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).The decision is significant for Sri Lankan refugees who have spent decades in India after fleeing ethnic violence and the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sri Lankan refugees began arriving in Tamil Nadu in large numbers following ethnic violence that erupted in 1983 and the subsequent escalation of the civil war. The war continued for nearly three decades before ending in May 2009.According to a report in the Colombo-based Daily Mirror newspaper, around 18,000 Sri Lankan refugees returned home between 2002 and 2022, while approximately 90,000 are still living in Tamil Nadu. Many of those who remain in India have spent a substantial portion of their lives here and the easing of the documentation process by the Sri Lanka government has also been hailed by the United Nations (UN).When the Indian government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in December 2019, the exclusion of Sri Lankan Hindu refugees from its ambit, caused an uproar. The Opposition accused the Centre of discriminating against the community and questioned why refugees who had fled persecution in Sri Lanka were denied the law's benefits.Through the CAA, India created a fast-track citizenship route for six non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered by December 31, 2014. Sri Lanka's exclusion fuelled fears among Tamil refugees in India that they could eventually be deported. The Centre said that law was designed to address religious minorities fleeing state-sponsored persecution in three neighbouring nations tied to the 1947 Partition.LANKAN GOVT'S SPECIAL MECHANISM FOR REFUGEES WITH NO DOCUMENTSSri Lankan diplomatic missions in India will first verify the identity of people who left the country without travelling through an approved port or possessing a formal passport before August 1, 2006, according to the Colombo-based Daily Financial Times newspaper's report.Once their Sri Lankan identity is established, the individuals will have to obtain clearance from the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the intelligence agency of the island nation operating under its Ministry of Defence.Authorities will also check whether these individuals have been involved in serious offences, including murder, treason or crimes covered by special provisions of Sri Lankan law.Those who clear the process will be issued temporary passports, allowing them to enter Sri Lanka through a recognised port without facing legal action under the Immigration and Emigration Act, No. 20 of 1948 of the country, the Daily Financial Times reported.A similar arrangement will apply to Sri Lankans who travelled to India between August 1, 2006 and May 19, 2009, when the civil war ended. For this group too, identity verification and SIS clearance will be mandatory before they are allowed to return without facing action under immigration law.However, the move will not cover people found to have committed serious offences. Those accused of murder, treason or other offences covered by special legal provisions could be detained at the port and referred to the relevant authorities for legal action.Sri Lankan Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the Lankan government's decision was intended to enable the orderly and voluntary return of refugees while ensuring that the necessary identity, security and legal checks were completed before their arrival.The proposal was submitted by the Sri Lankan Government's Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ananda Wijepala.LANKA GOVT'S DECISION FOLLOWS CONCERNS OVER ARRESTS OF REFUGEESThe formal mechanism passed by the Sri Lanka government comes against the backdrop of concerns raised by refugee rights activists over the treatment of some returnees.The Hindu newspaper highlighted the case of a 75-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil refugee who was arrested in May 2025 after returning from India. He was accused of leaving Sri Lanka without a valid passport, raising concerns among refugee rights groups about the potential legal risks faced by people attempting to return.However, authorities subsequently pointed out that 246 people from 46 families returned from India to Sri Lanka between July 2025 and February 2026 without any reported arrests.The government has now sought to put the return process on a more formal footing.According to The Hindu, the instructions obtained from the public prosecutor include verification of the returnee's identity, clearance from the State Intelligence Service and authentication of Sri Lankan nationality through diplomatic missions in India for people displaced before August 1, 2006.Sri Lankan authorities must also establish that the returnees have not committed murder, treason or any other offence covered by special provisions of law.Sri Lanka's new policy could mark an important shift in how the country handles the return of refugees who left during the decades-long war under circumstances that made obtaining passports or travelling through authorised ports difficult.For thousands who have spent years or even decades in India, the decision provides a formal route back without automatically exposing them to immigration proceedings for their manner of departure.With around 90,000 Sri Lankan refugees still estimated to be living in Tamil Nadu, the success of the initiative will depend on whether the new mechanism can translate into a safe, dignified and sustainable return for those who choose to go home.- EndsPublished By: Avinash KateelPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 08:00 IST