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Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has finally left Singapore for Thailand on August 11.

A press release from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) confirmed his departure on the same day.

Diplomatic passport

Reuters confirmed that Rajapaksa arrived in Thailand, also on the same day, and that the Thai government has granted him permission to remain in the country.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters that Rajapaksa's visit to Thailand is supported by the government of Sri Lanka, and his diplomatic passport entitled him to a stay of up to 90 days.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that Rajapaksa had been allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds, but that his permission to stay was temporary. He is also barred from political activities while in Thailand.

Rajapaksa was said to not be seeking political asylum.

Short term visit

Rajapaksa had arrived in Singapore 28 days prior, on July 14.

He arrived in Singapore after having initially fled to the Maldives from Sri Lanka, days after street protests invaded his residence and offices, forcing him into hiding.

He had not sought political asylum, with Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noting that Singapore generally did not grant asylum requests.

While most visitors to Singapore from Sri Lanka are permitted 30 day Short Term Visit Passes (STVP), Rajapaksa was given a 14 day STVP, which was subsequently extended by another 14 days, before finally leaving the country.

Resigned by email

Upon arrival, Rajapaksa resigned by email, being replaced as president by his final Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe himself had been a short term appointee as Prime Minister, replacing Rajapaksa's brother Mahinda, who had been made to resign in a previous round of protests.

Sri Lankan newspaper The Daily Mirror reported that other than the flight to the Maldives on a military aircraft, Rajapaksa and his companions have not been provided any government funds for their travel or accommodation.

Instead, Rajapaksa has had to pay his own costs, although the newspaper claimed that he has been aided by unnamed rich businessmen who have helped pay for his lodgings.

The Daily Mirror had previously reported that the Sri Lankan government had been seeking yet another 14 day extension to Rajapaksa's STVP, but did not succeed.

No asylum

The former president earned the ire of his countrymen after Sri Lanka's economy nosedived, causing massive shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.

He was forced to flee when tens of thousands of Sri Lankans poured into the streets, demanding his resignation.

Larger than Saruman’s army! #Gohomegota pic.twitter.com/7BPwGwJYkX

— Dilshan Kottegoda (@KoDilshan) July 9, 2022

The Daily Mirror predicted that this 90 day stint in Thailand will prove to be Rajapaksa's last before being forced to return to Sri Lanka in November.

It also claimed that Rajapaksa has been unsuccessful in gaining asylum in a Middle Eastern country, which was supposedly his initial plan when he fled Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, for those who remain interested in tracking his movements, a Twitter account has been set up to do just that.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reached Thailand this evening on a temporary stay. He is reported to have travelled via a charter plane from Singapore's Seletar Airport. #SriLanka #lka @GotabayaR

— The Gota Tracker (@GotaTracker) August 11, 2022

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