IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Department of Pensions will cease the practice of paying Sri Lankan pensions through      Sri Lanka overseas Missions with effect from 1^st October 2018.

All Sri Lankan pensioners, including those residing overseas, will be required thereafter to hold a Sri Lankan bank account to which their pension will be paid.

Pensioners currently receiving their Sri Lankan pension through the High Commission in Ottawa, are therefore kindly requested to take immediate action to open a bank account in Sri Lanka before 1^st October 2018.

Please follow the instructions given in the Department of Pensions website at the URL given below, on how to open a bank account.

http://www.pensions.gov.lk/index.php/en/component/content/article?layout=edit&id=521.

Application forms to open bank accounts can be sent through the High Commission.

Life Certificates can continue to be sent through the High Commission, even after 1st October 2018.

Sri Lanka High Commission Ottawa

 Obtaining of Life Certificates for Foreign Pensioners - 2018

Read in Sinhala and Tamil (in PDF format)

It has been scheduled to conduct the obtaining of life certificates for foreign pensioners for the year 2018 from 01.12.2017 to 31.03.2018. Foreign pensioners should take action to submit their life certificates only through the Foreign Pension Division of the Department of Pensions or a Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission or Post in their country of residence.

 02. Specimen form of “Life Certificate 2018” should be downloaded from the www.pensions.lk website. The duly filled specimen form should be submitted to the Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission or Post or the Foreign Pensions Division by the pensioner him/herself along with the confirmation of their identity by producing a valid passport.

 03. Life certificates which are attested only by the Director General of Pensions/Director, Pensions/Assistant Director (Pensions) /authorized officers in a Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission/Post or divisional head (Foreign Pensions) are accepted as valid life certificates.

 04. Pensioners who are not able to visit a Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission or Post due to old age or ill health, should hand over their life certificates certified by a doctor who is treating  him/her to the Department of Pensions through the Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission or Post.

 05. Obtained life certificates through the Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission or Post should be scanned the Sri Lanka Diplomatic Mission or Post and entered into the data system of the Department of Pensions using the application.pensions.gov.lk/foreignmenu. The acceptance/rejection would be done after an inspection by the Department of Pensions.

 06. Life certificates of those foreign pensioners who submitted their life certificates to the Foreign Pension Division of the  Department of Pensions will be entered into the data system directly after the attestation of the Director General of Pensions/Director (Pensions) /Assistant Director (Pensions) or Divisional Head (Foreign Pensions). Notifying to pensioners on the life certificates entered into the data system and life certificates rejected due to incomplete information provided will be done through the Department website from 01.04.2018 to 30.04.2018.

 07. Pensioners who are abroad for less than three (03) years and obtain their pensions via the Divisional Secretaries should submit their life certificates through their Divisional Secretaries.

 08. Action will be taken to suspend pension payments temporarily from May 2018 of pensioners who have not submitted their life certificates by 31.03.2018. A relief period to re-submit the life certificates will be granted from 01.04.2018 to 30.04.2018 to pensioners who had already submitted their life certificates but the certificates were rejected due to incomplete information. Action will be taken to suspend the pension payments temporarily from May 2018 to those pensioners who have not submitted their life certificates during the stipulated period. Arrears of pension payments on behalf of pensioners who have not submitted life certificates would be notified later.

 09. Your cooperation in the submission of life certificates for the year 2018 would be highly appreciated, as the pension payment process is depended on the confirmation of the identity of the pensioners.

Suspension of monthly pensions for pensioners who had not submitted the life certificates for the year 2017

This High Commission has been informed by the Assistant Director/ Foreign Pensions of the Department of Pension that the Department of Pensions has decided to suspend the monthly pension payment of all overseas pensioners who had not submitted the duly filled life certificate during the period between 1^st December 2016 to 31^st of March 2017.