The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government has announced that the government has discontinued the approval of no-pay leave, both within and outside Sri Lanka, under the provisions of Public Administration Circular 14/2022 and its subsequent amendments.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting held on 24 November 2025, according to Public Administration Circular 14/2022(V) issued today (05).
The Ministry states that no new applications for no-pay leave or extensions under this circular will be accepted with immediate effect. Further, no public officer will be granted leave under these provisions after January 1, 2026.
However, several transitional measures have been introduced:
- Officers who have already been granted no-pay leave, either within or outside the country, will be allowed to proceed strictly for the period already approved.
- Officers who have received approval and are yet to commence their leave may also take the approved leave as scheduled.
- For applications already submitted to the Ministerial Committee as per Section “m” of the original circular:
- Applications that have fulfilled all requirements may still receive approval or extensions.
- Applications with documentation defects will be rejected without reconsideration.
- All pending activities related to such applications must be finalized before December 31, 2025.
The circular clearly states that no approval will be granted for leave intended to be spent within Sri Lanka under this scheme.
