charindra chandrasena  00:03
Hello, everybody. We are here today to discuss a particular issue that concerns foreign investors. In November 2023, the government, the then government, issued a gazette promising residence visas to foreign investors who were investing beyond a certain minimum threshold. In October 2025, the first visa under that category was issued to a German national. However, in those in that two-year period, there were some investors who invested based on the assurance of that gazette, but were subsequently informed that they don't qualify for the residence visa, because of certain technicalities. Today, to discuss this issue, we have with us two special people who are intimately familiar with this issue. Firstly, we have mr. Nigel Perelas Steckel, who is a senior people, talent, and organisational development leader with 30 years of cross-industry experience spanning government, aviation, hospitality, and global retail. Nigel currently serves as director of people and organisation development at the UK Home Office, where he leads a specialist function of more than 50 professionals, his work focuses on building a learner-centric culture, strengthening leadership capability, and delivering future-focused talent and organise and learning strategies that support organisational priorities across 50,000 colleagues. His leadership has contributed to significant improvements in compliance, leadership, behaviour, and services. Prior to this, Nigel held senior roles at the UK Department of Department for Transport and at British Airways, where he led global learning operations, culture transformation, and large-scale capability development across diverse professional groups. Welcome to the show, Nigel.

Speaker 1  02:27
Thank you very much.

charindra chandrasena  02:29
And joining him, we have Miss Sarah Samun, who is the founder of Magellan Champlain, a cross-border global mobility and investment migration advisory firm, originally established in 1994, she is also the Sri Lanka representative of the Investment Migration Council in Switzerland, the global association representing the investment migration industry, and regularly engages in discussions around policy clarity, investor confidence, and responsible cross-border investment frameworks. So the reason we are having this conversation is because investor confidence is fickle. It it is fragile. It can be eroded. It can be diminished through very very small actions, even which have a big impact. This is one such issue, and Sarah has extensive experience in this area, and Nigel, in addition to all his experience and credentials was one of those investors that relied on the government's assurance and invested in Sri Lanka. So, just to start off this conversation, Sarah, what was the issue that the government pointed to, and why does it have a larger impact beyond just the affected illnesses?

Speaker 2  04:14
Thank you, Chandra, for having us and an Advocata as well. Just to be clear, before I immediately answer that question, I just want to say that you know I want to what my role here is to identify the practical gaps that actually affect, as you mentioned, the investor confidence, right, and the experience of the people who are considering Sri Lanka as a place to invest in and to spend time. So what what has happened here is we often see that different parts of the regulatory system, you know, whether it's immigration, central bank, or different ministries, over time kind of operate in separate silos, right? So each acting within its mandate, but from the perspective of an investor, it's real becomes uncertainty, right? Policies and evolves or procedures changes. So what actually happened was in November on november 7 of 2023 a gazette was issued, setting out that if an investor invested a minimum of $100,000 or $200,000 into a licenced commercial bank and got a confirmation letter that they were entitled to either a five-year residency visa or a 10-year residency visa. Now, what happened when that gazet came out was that a lot of there was certain conditions that you know that you had you could invest in fixed deposits, shares, properties. So, in the investment migration industry, lot you always often see what you hear in the industry is golden visas, residence visas by investment, where condominium owners and apartment owners go out to the world, and investors, banks go out to the world and promote Sri Lanka and say, "Come invest. We they are giving you a five year, 10 year visa, right? So, between 2023 and like you mentioned, by the time they actually issued the first visa, there was a whole heap of investors that trusted the process, trusted the gazet, trusted what was being told to them, invested the money in through the inward the IIA account, which was a recognised bank account. That's what their banks confirmed. That's what the developers and promoters confirmed, and were expecting this visa. But when they finally did start issuing the visas in 2025, they brought out a regulation which they had introduced in 2024. But we did not have visibility to it by central bank. Neither did our bank managers have visibility to it. So, so where they had said that they are introducing a visa programme foreign currency account, and that the funds have to come in into the IIA from that into this VPFC account, and then you go into either your investment. So, you know the situation arose where the you know the timing gap between these three legal you know administrative steps right the gazett announcing the banking regulation and actual implementation so clients were then told I'm sorry there's nothing we can do about it you need to bring in the money again right and they were not eligible for the visa.

charindra chandrasena  07:21
Sarah, could you just for clarity for our audience repeat that banking regulation and and elaborate on it exactly?

Speaker 2  07:30
So the banking regulation was introduce introduced a new account structure, right? And that we actually got a copy of it when we started raising questions in 2025 from from the banks from the international banks, like it's like that with where is this VPFC account? So that's called. I'm just gonna pull it up for myself on the screen just to make sure I get the name correct. So they had old accounts for people who invested in the old Dream Home programme and resident guest scheme visas, they were called resident guest scheme accounts and dream home accounts. So they had taken that out and introduced a new account structure called the visa programme foreign currency account. Right. So usually investors would bring in money into the IIA account. Right. It's an inward remittance account, and that was what is legally recognised at the time. So now they're saying you bring in the money into the IIA account, but in order to be eligible for the visa, you cannot expense it out of the IIA account. You have to then transfer the money to the visa programme foreign currency account. Then you get that letter of confirmation that the bank wants, which was mentioned in the gazet earlier in 2023 as just a letter of confirmation saying the funds are there, so now they're saying that letter has to come saying that these funds are available in the new VPFC account. Is that clear?

charindra chandrasena  08:56
Yes, yes, much clearer. I want to bring Nigel in now. Nigel, you were so Sarah can say it from an industry point of view, but but you were there, you were affected by this. When did you find out about this banking regulation change, and did you did you have any inkling that such a change had happened before that?

Speaker 1  09:24
Thank you. No. So when we when we came to Sri Lanka, and by the way, I must make it really clear that while I'm a single voice today, I can only speak about my personal experience. But I'm sure this aligns to many others, because the similarities would be the same, no doubt. But the one thing is that we were lured to Sri Lanka. We did a lot of research, and we, when we sat with the property developer that we bought from, it was very clear that point that if we invested. Upwards of 100,000 US dollars that we would be eligible for visas, and that we must invest the money in an inward investment account, an IIA, which was brand new to me. I did not understand it. So, because HSBC is the bank we banquet in the United Kingdom, and there was an HSBC in Sri Lanka, and it's a recognised establishment in Sri Lanka. We proceeded to make a call, and we went to the bank, and they confirmed: yes, you must open a a sterling IIA account and transfer the money from the UK to that account, and from that account you can then make your purchase for your investment by way of property, and that's what I were we I was told. I checked it, and when we did transfer the money, that's what happened. It went from the UK to the IIA account in Sri Lanka, and then from there to the builder in Sri Lanka,

charindra chandrasena  11:03
right, and and you had no idea, no notification, no heads up that such a change had happened, right?

Speaker 1  11:11
No, that we were told category because I sat with the as part of the conditions of buying the the the place. We I understood very clearly that the the process could be a little bit of a minefield, so I felt I needed some legal support. So as part of my negotiations with the builder, which is not a small organisation in Sri Lanka, it's a very reputable and significant organisation that is regulated in Sri Lanka by way of a developing building organisation, and when I sat with the legal team as well as the executive director, the conditions of negotiation for the investment, which is the condominium I purchased, was that I will need legal support in in helping me with the application for the visa as part of the purchase, and we they told us as long as you follow the the transfer of the money into the IIA account and then pay us, we will then support you with that. They had agreed that they will help with that.

Speaker 2  12:14
And if I can add, like so, I'm in the investment migration industry, so you know we have conferences in Switzerland, in Dubai, in the UK, all around the world, right? So very often, you know, Sri Lanka is in terms of mobility. Where I'm there as a representative, but other than that, they're the large. I mean, I won't name them, but very large property developers promoting Sri Lanka, you know, as an island. Come and invest, right? So I'm aware. I mean, you know, this experience, Nigel, is you know where I'm privileged to to have a firsthand experience. But I'm aware there are so many out there who actually trusted this and invested, thinking that you know, okay, along with their apartments, they can come and you know spend their winters here without having to worry about tourist visas, and you know, have a residency, have some claims so that they can either retire here or you know have their family. So there's so many out there who are within this time period of 2023 and October 2025, where they invested in good faith and are now you know finding themselves in this position where they're, you know, where they're like upset, obviously.

Speaker 1  13:27
And Sarah, you're right, by the way, because when I know for a fact that the organisation we bought from, when we were when we because we had to visit them multiple times as part of the process, that their sales team were deployed to Malaysia and Doa while we were on a visit to promote what they did, and actually we also engaged with another, with several, but another quite prolific developer in Sri Lanka. And the moment they knew we were living in the United Kingdom, the amount of calls that I proactively got to and pictures that I was sent via WhatsApp to entice me with properties very beautiful was quite significant and remarkable. So there is that lure, and of course, as an investor, you think, well, yes, and I'd love to be able to tell the story at some point, if I may. You know how the romance with Sri Lanka started, because I think that's really important. Because this is not just a cold hard transaction of cash in exchange for visas. There is a there is a very deep, meaningful story for me why I chose Sri Lanka. But when you look at the practicalities of it, yes, to invest against a legal framework in exchange for a visa, and when that does not happen, it leaves a lot to be desired.

charindra chandrasena  14:51
So, and either of you could take this question, but what have so you mentioned that the. Property developer actively promoted this scheme. Was the property developer not aware about the nitty-gritties of or the regulation change? Were they not aware, or did they just leave that out?

Speaker 2  15:18
No. If you don't mind, Ajay, can I take that?

Speaker 3  15:21
Yes.

Speaker 2  15:21
All right. So I think there's been so much confusion. Honestly, I think also with what Sri Lanka, you know, one after the other economically has been going through, I think you know this this has just you know they've just dropped the ball on this. It's just slipped through the cracks, because the property developers have been campaigning for residency visas by purchasing their apartments for a very long time, and in all good faith, for a very short period, they were giving investor visas for apartments, which was another different visa category. You know, it was a minimum of 75,000 if it was in rural areas, and that in urban areas it was higher, but very quickly when the 2023 gazet came, they stopped issuing it. So now there's a gap, and it wasn't very you know announced. You know there was other things going on in the news. So now there was these visas that were being issued to the developers that had already built apartments, like you know the ITC Shangri-Las, they were getting their visas, and then they when the 2023 gazette came, they stopped issuing those visas. But in the Gazette, you know, you I'm not saying you know I don't think they did it intentionally because the Gazzard said if you invest this money in and you get a letter from the bank and if it's if it's immovable property, then you can get a visa. So though immigration had not started issuing the visas, they believed in good faith. This is all they needed because the gazet mentioned this is the only documents that you need. So,

charindra chandrasena  16:56
but but if the if the if there's a regulation change, Sarah, should that not be communicated to the developers by the government?

Speaker 2  17:04
I'm, I mean, I have not in. Okay, I've been in the business for 30 years, so it's up to the service providers to go find that information in in in the ecosystem here in Sri Lanka. You know, so it's not told to the service providers. Yeah, yeah. So when I say

charindra chandrasena  17:21
when I say told when I say told, I don't necessarily mean individually told to each developer, but there must be some sort of communication that yeah,

Speaker 2  17:29
and that they can rely on that gazet, right? It was a gazet, so they went from the gazet. If there

charindra chandrasena  17:34
is something on top of the gazet that changes subsequently, then

Speaker 2  17:40
yeah. So they didn't say they didn't go out there and say don't promote the investments because this visa has not been, you know, the implementation has not been done. So therefore, do not promote it because we do not know the requirements. There was no communication of that sort given to the property developers or the banks.

Speaker 1  17:58
And and and Sarah Charinger, from my perspective, and this is not to apportion blame on anyone. I want to make this really clear because I felt that I was being looked after by the property developer that I chose. I felt that the guidance that I was being given felt legitimate when I went to the bank, and because it's HSBC and unfamiliar with HSBC in the UK. It felt all very above board, and so there was nothing for me to question with that. That's why I negotiated all the support for with the visa. And while visas were not being issued at the time, because I was told what I was told quite clearly is the conditions for investment is that you must invest a minimum of 100,000 or above, and that will qualify you for a visa at a point when the government starts to reissue the visa. Again, there's also one thing from my perspective: we are looking at a change in government. At the time, you had a different government in in place, and now you have a new government, so there is a crack here that has been established where I have fallen into, as along with many others, as we've said. And this is the thing that I think is really important to look at, because while we have changed or things might have changed, the reality is that compliance, from from my perspective as well as others, but as I said, I can only speak for me. As was met at the time, there is something about recognising that rather than putting me through further hoops. This has been going on since October of 2024, by the way. So my life has been on hold while I keep accommodating and accommodating and adjusting. Now, what I find really unsettling is when I'm being told that the investment that I've already made, and by the way, it is significant, and we are not talking about $100,000 here. It is significantly more than that, and I leave you with that, Imagine. But multiply it, you know, 345, times, and you might be getting, you might get close to the number. So I have played my part in terms of commitment. What I struggle to understand and where I really have a concern is where potentially I'm now being told that to meet current, the current gazette that has been re-established, that I may need to invest further, and that's where I have an issue because we cannot be changing the goalposts as it suits and when it suits, and not recognise the significant contribution to Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan's economy, which I've done in good faith.

charindra chandrasena  20:41
So the the solution that sorry yeah Sarah comment yeah

Speaker 2  20:45
so 100% you know completely on this same page as Nigel mentioned right so because it's about the policy systems being managed the transition being managed because in many countries like the industry has changed over time in all across you know first tier world countries like Portugal, Malta, you know Singapore, it's constantly changing. But the difference is that in these jurisdictions, when regulations are changed and and the new schemes are announced, they always introduce a grand grandfathering or a safe harbour provision, as like one of my legal colleagues is saying, duration, so that the these mechanisms and can recognise these investors who relied on the earlier legal framework, right, and and to make sure that they're not disadvantaged by these procedural changes. So it's not like we're asking for you know in this discussion like an endless. It's we're saying between the November 2023 and October 2025, you know how can Sri Lanka maintain that regulatory integrity while protecting investor confidence? You know for those who acted based on the rules available at the time.

charindra chandrasena  21:56
Yeah. So Sarah and Nigel, in order for it not to retrospectively impact investors like Nigel, the solution is simply to grant the visa based on the earlier requirements. Is it that simple?

Speaker 2  22:19
It's very simple because, as a country, as citizens of Sri Lanka, we want to make sure these are genuine investor investments that we can. The government for compliance will want to track it. Where you know where did the funds come from? Source of funds is it in our bank account? In in our bank accounts, is the investment still there? So you know I mentioned in August of 2024 that they gave this new bank account. Right now, in that they talk about introducing a bank account, but they don't say that they don't recognise the funds brought into the IIA account. So it's really simple. You verify have the funds come in into the IIA account? Can you verify was it invested in one of the permitted investments, we're saying it's as simple as that. Just grandfather that period and give the visas to these people who brought the money in.

Speaker 1  23:08
And Sarah, we can track. I can track every. I can personally track every single transaction that has come out of that IIA account. But on top of that, I've been assured by HSBC Sri Lanka, that because they are a foreign bank operating in Sri Lanka, and as much as they are wrapping up their retail side of things, they are so highly regulated that that IIA account, every cent that we have spent in Sri Lanka has been justified and can be traced, and we can we can speak to it. So it's not like the the funds have come in and have disappeared, and we cannot speak to it. And by the way, I just want to say something that's really, really, really, really super important. I am not here to ask for any special favours or any special permissions. I am asking for simply to recognise what has happened and that I met the law at the time. I abided by it. I invested in good faith, and in exchange for that, I would like to have what I was what I was expecting in exchange for that. I think that's.

charindra chandrasena  24:16
Have you made this request to the government, Nigel, to the immigration authorities, to yeah,

Speaker 1  24:24
yes, and in what

charindra chandrasena  24:26
form? In what form?

Speaker 2  24:28
So

charindra chandrasena  24:30
and at at in what frequency?

Speaker 2  24:32
So I I can take that in terms of many applications since I'm in the industry. Nigel is that the application? So you fill in an application and you submit the information to the immigration office in Colombo, and it's then submitted to them. And of course, so many people have also requested meetings with the immigration division. But the thing is, and it's denied at that point and said, "No, sorry, we cannot." This bank letter, which is showing only the funds out of the IIA account, we need to see this VPFCA account, and that's and mind you, Nigel just mentioned accidentally that this new gazet, there was no new gazet issued. It was just an implementation procedure documented by immigration. So I think the hands are tied by immigration because immigration turns around and says tells the industry because from an industry perspective we've questioned this is that it's a central bank regulation it's a mystery of finance regulation they're telling us we can only give visas to the BPF people who are holding BPFC accounts and that amount is in that but if you look at the document that they have given in 2024, you know, it says it's introducing it. If it doesn't say, don't recognise what comes into the IAA. So, like you know, we said it's just you know slipped through the cracks, and nobody's you know the Ministry of Finance, the Foreign Affairs Ministry. I think would have to come in and look at this and realise that you know it's not fair. You know the credibility of the framework is really important, and also in the industry right now, everyone's like, oh, you know, not everyone. The people in the rooms I'm in, which is investors choosing where to go and invest their money and where to retire, they're like, Sri Lanka is unreliable, you know, because they say one thing, but then they do another thing. So we really can't. So we've

charindra chandrasena  26:22
had this issue for the longest time in in Sri Lanka, Sarah, where this policy inconsistency and you know policies being tweaked, you know when a government changes, that really doesn't inspire confidence in in Sri Lanka, as far as investors are concerned, because you're relying on the current state of affairs when you're investing, right? And then suddenly, if the goalposts keep changing, it is problematic. But I also want to understand now: is there a complaint mechanism? And and Sarah, you may be able to answer this. Is there a complaint mechanism for investors, whether it's in the 100,000 or 300,000 band or much higher? Is there a complaint mechanism currently in Sri Lanka for issues like this?

Speaker 2  27:19
This is one of the reasons we're having this conversation, Chandra, because there is no standard complaint mechanism, and we've raised these issues. I know for a fact that the condominium developers associations are also raising these issues, one-on-one meetings. As far as I know, there is no mechanism, Nigel. You've done your research.

Speaker 1  27:45
No, you you so for me, we are left in limbo. I'm left in limbo. I other than the representation that I have, we are at a bit of a pass at the moment because if the recognition of what has happened is not being taken into account, then where do we move from here? The solution, what I am understanding based on what has happened so far, is the solution would be the easiest solution would be to reinvest and then start again. But that for me does not sound right, and that's why we are like Sarah said, we're having this conversation because there needs to be some recognition. Look, I'll tell you what's happening in the UK by way of pension reform. Yes, the the pension retirement age was at 55 early. That's that early retirement that you can choose to retire. They've changed it a few years back to it's going to be 57 from 2029. There is a window, a catchment window, to the grandfathering point that Sarah was referencing. So, for people that fall into that window, will not be disadvantaged, and they give over five years notice to that change, so that those of us that might get impacted by that can start to make the allowance that you may need to work for an additional two years. Sri Lanka doesn't work

charindra chandrasena  29:05
like that, unfortunately. That's the problem.

Speaker 1  29:08
But this is where this is where we must challenge some of that because I come from the Caribbean, and the Caribbean. I heard that for many many years. We don't do that in the Caribbean today, tomorrow. You know, 10 o'clock means 12 o'clock. You know those types of behaviours and practices as a Caribbean person who synergizes culturally so much so to Sri Lanka. One of the reasons I fell in love with Sri Lanka as well. It is not acceptable for people who are in our roles and our positions to accept that that is status quo. That's how we do it. We have to push against the system. We have to push people to do better, be better. We have to be punctual. We have to be ethical. We have to practice within the conditions of the law, and we must recognise that the brand damage is significant. Because I'll give you another example: two of our friends who genuinely got excited. By the time we spoke about Sri Lanka, they're thinking, "Oh my gosh, this is really the pearl in the Indian Ocean. So we really want to go to Sri Lanka as well. When they heard what is happening now, guess what has happened? One has gone to the Caribbean and one has gone to Singapore, and their visa process by way of investment is much more seamless. While I continue to wait for for a year and a half. Isn't that interesting?

Speaker 2  30:27
And the thing is, it's it's it's the Sri Lanka has nothing to lose by grandfathering this this particular issue. But what they do have to lose is is if they don't, then you know people are gonna sell it either after local and take their monies and just move right. So they have everything to lose. And I also think you know when you when your earlier question about who to complain to in the industry they say go to the board of investment. But remember, I was saying a lot of these institutions operate in silos, so this particular visa category does not have anything to do with the board of investment. Exactly, right? But the because this would be the immigration

charindra chandrasena  31:11
department, right?

Speaker 2  31:12
Yes, and not the board of investment. They are also relying on you know the foreign ministry and the sorry the finance ministry, right? So they are not going to do anything until they are handed over an official document very correctly to say, okay, you can also accept according to the previous gazet funds that have come in into the IIA, right? So that's what needs fixing. Yeah,

charindra chandrasena  31:33
because Sri Lanka has been talking about a one-stop shop for foreign investors for years and years. Sarah, I think you're very well aware about this, but it still hasn't come to fruition. So yeah, there's a lot, lot of work to be done. But at the moment, can you tell me what their reason for insisting on this VPFS account is? What is their justification for it? The authorities,

Speaker 2  32:04
and this is my personal understanding as a professional. Okay, so it's not something that I've got written down or whatever. But so before they had this resident guest scheme five-year visa that they were issuing, and then they had the Dream Home Programme, and then for that very short period they had these investor visas, right? So, but if we go back to this resident guest scheme visa, they had this special bank account, right? That you would need to invest your money in the RG, the resident guest scheme account, and that's what. So, I think what they've done, from my understanding of the patterns and the trends, is now replace that account with this VPFCA account for this particular visa. So now the directions they have that that's been implemented is that it's as simple. Your funds need to be in this VPFCA account. That's it. So that's why they're insisting because that's what they're told. That's what they're now document given official document given by the immigration is available on their website as well. Says the fund, the letter bank confirmation of where the funds are must be in a VPFC account. So that needs to change, right? So that's why they're insisting on it because that's what that's the implementation. So they never considered this few people that invested, not few many, but between 2023, and the thing is, as a nation, we have to take responsibility. If our providers and our developers and our wealth managers are going out to the world and industry and saying, "Come invest, because we've issued a gazette, the government has issued a gazette, and all it says is, "You need to bring in the money into the IIA account. I think as a nation we need to take responsibility. Yeah, but Sarah,

charindra chandrasena  33:45
I'm I'm also trying to understand because I I I would, I think the solution becomes clearer if we know where the sticking point is. Right. I'm just trying to you know get into the shoes of the government and say whether there is any justification, any rational logic to the insistence on this, despite it coming belatedly. Meaning that when investors like Nigel put their money in, they didn't know about this, and yet the government, according to what you've been telling me, the government keeps insisting. And when I say government, I'm referring to the immigration authorities. They keep insisting on it. So I'm just trying to understand whether they have any sort of justification, whether that that's understandable or not, for their insistence on this.

Speaker 1  34:43
Could I, Sarah, while you're thinking, could I just come in from an investor perspective? So, and Trenja, I love the question, but from an investor perspective, what I'm hearing is a procedural change, and that's that's down to any. Institution, organisation, government to do that because they may have whatever justification to be able to make that that shift. In making the shift here, we're talking about this is also a bank shift, so we need to be able to. So, in my from my perspective, as long as I am able to demonstrate what I've done with that money, regardless of what bank account it has gone into, but it went into the stipulated bank account at the time, and that's what I meant by new when I said new, because again, I am not in the details in Sri Lanka. I have a different job and different responsibilities, but shifting that to a new requirement and a new account should not then negate what was the requirement at the time. It means that from that date, effective from that date, anyone that invests needs to then follow that procedure. But then, what are we doing about those that have invested before that date with this with this additional visa programme account that now needs to be invested, and that's the people like myself that we now need to address because that's the gap that we have here. Yeah. So if I were to now, the easy solution would be I hand you or not you I hand I put in another $100,000 into a bank, move it into the visa programme account. Bob's your uncle. I should be. I will comply to the new process. I get a visa. But what's happening to the hundreds of 1000s of dollars that have already been invested in Sri Lanka, and we can evidence that has been invested in Sri Lanka. That's the question that needs to be answered, and that's the question that needs to be addressed and needs to be solutionized because we we can keep focusing on the new or the adjustment, but we still have this gap where people and it's and it is creating. And can I give you an example? If Sri Lanka and this is the business side of things, so I can give you the motive side of it and also the business side of it. So if Sri Lanka were to attract 100, only 100 individuals like myself to the tune of what I've invested. And by the way, I'm also leaving my entire estate to Sri Lanka. My Sri Lankan estate will be left to Sri Lankan organisations. Yeah, so I have more than committed. Yeah, I'm not only committed in the front. I'm committing even after I'm gone. I'm showing that Sri Lanka. I fall in love with you. Here it is. I'm not just telling it to you into words. I'm showing it to you by way of my commitment, my hard-earned taxed money. I've commit. I've worked for. Here it is. If 100 people do that, you'll be looking at between 800 to $100 million immediately coming to Sri Lanka. That's not even looking at exponentially the the the side of that. So friends that come and spend. Our friend came to visit us in December as an example. In one day, she was in OGF and she went crazy in your OGF mall. She went absolutely crazy. One day, she bought 18 dresses to the tune of between 20 and 45,000 rupees per dress. I'm not being funny. Do your maths. 18 by that-that's a lot of money in one day. Yeah. But for her, and I had to quickly educate her to say because she kept saying, "Oh my God, it's it's like I said, don't say what you want to say next because the natural thing to say is, 'Oh my God, it's so cheap. But no, because this is the reality for Sri Lankans. That's a lot of money you're spending, and then she realised, 'Oh my gosh, that's one person in one day because of my association. Do your maths. So this is where we are. We cannot be short-sighted. And note, I'm saying we because I, I'm part of this. I want to be part of the solution as well. I'm not here to just blame.

Speaker 1  38:51
I'm also want to be why use me as an advisor to help to not just shape. It should not just be the gazette and then the policy. It should be the whole end-to-end experience, so that Sri Lanka, who's very new at doing some of these, some of this, can be at the forefront of this. Let's not, like I said, let's not keep saying that this is how we are in Sri Lanka. You have somebody here, and there will be multiple versions of me that will say, let's form a little advisory group that will help to bring a gazette and a policy to life, so that it has a more seamless impact. I'm not even allowed to open a current account. You want to hear a joke? I can't even open a current account in Sri Lanka, but I'm expected to pay pay all my utility bills. Now, how do I do that if I don't have a current account in Sri Lanka when most of these organisations will not accept my UK visa credit card, but I'm not allowed to use my IIA to pay for domestic incurred bills. I'm not talking about restaurants or hotels or my spa days. These are paid separately. I'm talking about paying bills in Sri Lanka. Based on the investment I've made, so that's an example of where it's not considered end to end, and that's where we can help to shape some of that. And I want to be part of the solution. This is not about blaming. This is about solutionizing it.

Speaker 2  40:12
China's also to. I think if I were to look at the industry itself globally, I can see, obviously, you know that the VPFC account is opened in order to track the the foreign currency trail for the visa applicants, and that's, I mean, you know, because there are. I'm not a financial wealth expert, wealth manager, but there are certain foreign currency exchange and FDI regulations and all, which is different from IIA, and I think in order to make the tracking easier and you know have a clear a separate account for visa purposes, the VPFC has been introduced, and I think that is a very good step, and that is necessary, and because that is yeah, but

charindra chandrasena  40:58
that should have been that should have been thought about at the initial stage

Speaker 2  41:02
exactly when they did the before the launch. They should at least hit the gazette. They should have mentioned a line that there will be a specific visa account because then at least the you know whether it's the banks or the developers or anyone who's reading it will question that is that the case. This was

charindra chandrasena  41:17
changed when exactly? Could you repeat when it was changed,

Speaker 2  41:22
as in the the notification. Not that it was changed.

charindra chandrasena  41:26
No, the when when was the VPFC requirement brought in?

Speaker 2  41:29
So the central bank had issued a document in August of 2024, which, like I said, which was not visible to the banks and all until we asked about it in in September 2025. That is when it first was publicly announced that you need a BBC. So August,

charindra chandrasena  41:45
August 2024, Sarah was actually before the change of government.

Speaker 2  41:52
Right,

charindra chandrasena  41:53
right, because that happened in September. If you take the presidency as the actual change, and I think that just illustrates the problem even more starkly, because not only is there policy inconsistency, you know, between successive governments, there's policy inconsistency within one regime as well and one government. So this is a problem that Sri Lanka has been facing in terms of foreign investors, in terms of you know even even tourism, in terms of trade. But yeah, yeah, quite interesting. Before we wind up, if you have any closing thoughts, you can go into those as well. But generally, can I know because you meet a lot of people outside Sri Lanka who have connections to Sri Lanka and and who have maybe visited here, who may have had investment talks with Sri Lankan authorities. What is the general sense? And if you take it out of this particular issue and go beyond it. What is the general sense about the investment climate in the country? And you can give your closing thoughts if you have any with that answer as well.

Speaker 1  43:12
So, from my perspective, like I said, we're two friends. You know, based on our personal circumstances, but also friends that we've made in Sri Lanka. I was speaking to a couple just recently, and they're Sri Lankan-born, lived there with businesses in Sri Lanka, and they have said to me, "Please tell me who to write to. Please tell me where I can go to. And I shared with them that I am having this opportunity to give an example, one perspective from a singular investor's perspective on this point, and they said, "Can I join you to also talk about how we feel embarrassed by this? So these are this is what your your I I don't like doing this because I don't like to disassociate myself from it, but this is what your own people are saying, yeah, and I this can be actually bring me to tears, and it always does. So I'm going to try to tell you this before I I tell you about I wrap it up from my perspective, but we've hired people. So our housekeeper, as an example, who looks after our place there, she keeps telling me all the time, mr. Nigel, I'm so lucky, I'm so lucky, and I said to her, "But why do you think you're lucky? Because of how you treat me, because of how the households I've worked in before, how they speak to me, how they treat me. We have been very generous. Yeah, this is one example of many. Yeah, and I said to her one day, with tears in my eyes because we've made sure that she's looked after. Because I always think, as a housekeeper, you know, we all have jobs, we all have pensions, we all have provisions, insurances, different things. But if something happens to us, she then has to go and find a new job. Yeah, so we've made provisions that she can be looked after down the line. And she burst into tears, and I had to breathe through this. And she-that's when she told me she's lucky. And I said, "But we are all lucky because you're helping me, and I'm helping you. It's as simple as that. And that is a Sri Lankan voice speaking to me. So when I said to you, "I've fallen in love with Sri Lanka, it's not what you probably hear all the time, and for people, they say it for different reasons. Yes, it's a beautiful country. Yes, you have been hit by unimaginable situations. You know, you did not only have financial crash and COVID. You had, you know, a tsunami for good measure. You had a cyclone. We now have a war that's impacting you again every time you kind of get your head and your neck above water, something comes to knock you. But this is where we have to look at it whole. We see, I love when I can say we. This is what because that includes me. This is where we have to look at it holistically. Every every single investor, be that a transient tourist, a nomad, a high net worth investor, has to be treated with the same level of respect and courtesy and grace. Because, like I said, you multiply that, it starts to add to the coffers, and this is what Sri Lanka needs to be better. To to you know, you need 576, I believe, million dollars to put a dam in to prevent what happened through that cyclone. That's a hell of a lot of money. Yeah. So all of this goes towards contributing to making Sri Lankan even better. That's what I want to do. That's why I'm here to be able to change things to shape things. So I definitely think that this can be quite damning, because, like I said, two of our friends went elsewhere when they could have come to Sri Lanka, and we would have loved that more than anything. But the reality is that we we need to fix this. And the call to action for me is very simple. It's no blame. The call to action is there is no one else, and we cannot call to spiritual beliefs.

Speaker 1  47:07
Now we have to call to the people that lead the country of Sri Lanka. They are the ones with the power and the gift to be able to just rectify this. This is not a favour. It's not a gesture. It's not a. It's not an act of kindness. It is honour what was there in the first place and make sure that of course do the due diligence as long as we meet that but

charindra chandrasena  47:29
yeah honour the honour the initial commitment and yes and the promise

Speaker 2  47:33
from me trying that it'll be really short I'm Sri Lanka's first and currently the only certified investment migration analyst in the certification process, so I am out there in North America, very active in in the West Coast at the moment, talking to investors. Right, so Sri Lanka is known for its beauty. The tourism industry has done a great job the last couple of months. You know, saying come visit Sri Lanka. We have no doubt when they come here. When people come here, they love the people. They love our country, right? But when we are pitching to them and saying, "Like, look, we're a beautiful island, but we have a lot of bureaucracy. We have to jump a lot of loopholes because we want to have integrity in what we sell to them. And I'd like to stop saying that. So you know, it's not. You know, they can have in this context banking controls as every country should, right? But the real question is, like, you know, the group of people that invested in good faith and made genuine investments should be protected, right? So, and addressing these kind of cases, it's not going to weaken our regulation, but it'll actually just give a vote of confidence to the world that Sri Lanka stands by its investors. You know who relied on our own frameworks, right? So, one thing is around the world, people love Sri Lanka, and you know we we're at the moment. I always say like people who have choices, like I call global citizens. You know, we have choices of where we can be. We choose to be here. We think it's a beautiful country. It's really safe. So we, you know, it's easy to fix these things and give confidence to our investors.

Speaker 1  49:14
And you have yummy food too. Don't forget your food. It's yummy.

charindra chandrasena  49:18
Yes, it is. We all love that. So that it was a great conversation. Thank you so much for contributing. And people will now have a better idea about where the issue lies and and what the solution is because it doesn't appear to be a very complicated solution. And I think, in the long run and in the broader picture, it's it's important that investors are not left high and dry like this, like Nigel has been. And it's it's important that the government pay some attention to issues like this, so that they can even even if it. Requires a high-level intervention that they can get things done. So thank you, Sarah. Thank you, Nigel. Thanks to both of you for your contribution and the clarity with which you presented your side of the story and and in fact the broader picture. And I hope, Nigel, that you find a solution soon, and that that you can continue, you know, the journey of your love story with Sri Lanka further and further. So thank you to both of you, Sarah Samun and Nigel Pereira Secker. Thanks to both of you. Thank you.

Speaker 2  50:50
Thank you.

Speaker 1  50:51
Thank you.


Transcribed by https://otter.ai