The government has introduced a new initiative to issue birth, marriage, and death certificates to Sri Lankans living overseas through Sri Lankan embassies, aimed at providing greater convenience to the expatriate community.
According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), the program will begin as a pilot project at seven selected foreign missions. These include embassies in Kuwait, Japan, and Qatar, as well as consulates in Melbourne (Australia), Toronto (Canada), Milan (Italy), and Dubai (UAE).
Efforts are underway in Sri Lanka to enhance the e-BMD (electronic Birth, Marriage, and Death) database system, jointly managed by the Registrar General’s Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This system will enable embassies to issue certificates, following the model currently used at Divisional Secretariat offices across the country.
During the initial phase, only about 45 million birth, marriage, and death certificates that have already been scanned and stored in the e-BMD system will be available. These records cover registrations since January 1, 1960. While most certificates will be accessible, some may experience delays if revisions have been made after their initial entry into the database.
