-By A Staff Writer
(Lanka-e-News -10.June.2025, 11.20 PM) In a rare immigration enforcement action, five foreign rabbis — including three Israelis — were arrested yesterday by Sri Lanka’s Department of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) for allegedly breaching the conditions of their tourist visas. The group had been overseeing kosher poultry processing at a factory located in Mirigama, north of Colombo.
Immigration officials, acting on intelligence inputs, conducted a raid at the facility and apprehended the five men. According to officials, in addition to the three Israeli nationals, one of the rabbis was from Australia and the other from Italy.
Initial investigations have revealed that the men had entered the country on tourist visas but were engaged in religiously supervised commercial meat preparation in accordance with Jewish kosher laws. The processed chicken was reportedly being sold to local Jewish religious centres such as Chabad Houses and was intended for delivery to Arugam Bay — a beach town known for its increasing population of foreign residents, including Jewish travellers.
Speaking to this publication, a senior officer of the Immigration Investigation Division stated:
“Two of the Israeli nationals entered the country in March and May. The other three arrived during the first week of June. Observing kosher dietary laws or conducting religious rituals is not in itself illegal in Sri Lanka. However, conducting any form of commercial activity on a tourist visa is a clear violation of immigration law. Tourist visas do not allow any form of employment or work-related engagement.”
This appears to be the first recorded incident of kosher food production by foreign religious figures being detected by Sri Lankan authorities. The officer further clarified that foreign clergy intending to conduct any religious work must obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Religious Affairs before arriving in the country.
In recent months, Sri Lankan immigration authorities have taken action against foreign religious figures who engaged in missionary work without proper authorisation, often resulting in deportation. While the current case does not involve open proselytisation, officials stressed that at minimum, a business visa should have been secured for such commercial religious activity.
All five male foreign nationals have recorded their official statements and are expected to be deported shortly.
The investigation is being carried out under the direction of Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, Saminda Battramaja, who has instructed officers to take appropriate legal and administrative measures in accordance with national immigration laws.
-By A Staff Writer
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by (2025-06-11 01:09:15)
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