Illegal Labor Migration in the Post-Pandemic Period in Sri Lanka: With Special Reference to Gampaha District

Abstract

Sri Lanka is one of the major countries that earn income through labor migration. Covid-19 has had a significant impact on labor migration, causing various problems in the country during this period. Such as imposing travel restrictions, difficulty in getting visas and travel documents, economic issues and cuts to government subsidies. Consequently, there is an increase in the number of people using illegal methods to migrate. This research focuses on investigating why people use illegal methods for labor migration. According to the International Labor Organization, Sri Lankan illegal migration increased by 20% after the Covid-19 pandemic period. The objectives of this research are to find solutions to reduce this problem and to provide knowledge about legal migration methods to the people. According to the report by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, Gampaha is the District with the most illegal labor migration in the post-pandemic period. This research is based on primary data, such as interviews with officers of the Gampaha District Labor Office, as well as secondary data, such as reports from government officers, e-news, and articles. The key findings of this research are, the main reasons of the illegal migration are less knowledge of pre-departure process, illegal influence of misleading agencies to peolpe and domestic violence. Conducting seminars about legal migration at the regional level and providing education about the pre-departure process to the people are some solutions for reducing illegal labor migration.