Sri Lanka says people held in special camps since the end of the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels will be allowed out for short periods from December.
An aide to the president also confirmed a pledge to close the facilities, which house more than 130,000 people, the BBC reports.
The camps, surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by soldiers, were set up in the country's north for Tamils fleeing the final stages of the civil war, which ended in May.
About 300,000 Tamils left the war zone during the government's final offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam earlier this year.
Sri Lanka has drawn strong international criticism for holding people in the camps against their will, and aid agencies have welcomed the government's decision to allow people some freedom of movement.
On Thursday, United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes urged Sri Lanka to allow them to leave, following a visit to the camp.
The latest government announcement was made by the special adviser to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother Basil, on a visit to the largest camp, Menik Farm.
The government had argued that inmates had to be screened for links with the rebels and their home villages cleared of landmines before they could be allowed to leave.
But Mr Rajapaksa has announced that from 1 December, the camps would no longer be closed sites. People will now be free to leave them for a day or two at a time, to visit friends and relatives.
Although they will not be able to leave permanently, he reiterated the government's pledge to resettle those displaced by the end of January 2010.
