Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa applies for US citizenship restoration

Sri Lanka's former President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has applied for his US citizenship restoration after he failed to receive asylum in any nation. The ex-President fled the country in July 2022 amid economic turmoil and returned two months later to the south Asian island nation.

However, the United States government is yet to process his application, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The Sri Lankan Constitution says that citizens with dual citizenship would not be allowed to be contest in presidential elections. Thus, Rajapaksa renounced his United States citizenship to run for president in the 2019 polls.

His lawyers have made a restoration request to the US government, specifically to the Department of State. However, the report also mentioned that the current status of the application is pending. Moreover, restoring US citizenship is a costly and time-consuming legal process.

Mass protests in Sri Lanka in 2022 toppled Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government, and he left for the Maldives on July 13, leaving the countryin the worst financial crisis it has seen. From there, he travelled to Singapore and Thailand. He returned home on September 2, 2022.

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Since then, Rajapaksa and his 15 close family members have made multiple attempts to escape the country. Five months ago, a representative of the United States confirmed that they rejected Gotabaya's visa. Later, Sri Lanka's neighbouring nation India also refused Gotabaya's plane from landing in India.

However, his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild are still US citizens and live there. The disgraced ex-President is currently in Dubai on vacation with his immediate family.

(With inputs from agencies)

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