Jump to content

Visa policy of Sri Lanka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of
Sri Lanka
Constitution
Previous Constitutions
Executive
Ministerial portfolios
Administration
Ministerial portfolios
Legislature
Judiciary
  • President of the Court (52nd)
  • Viraj Dayaratne
Elections
  • R. M. A. L. Rathnayake
Administrative divisions
Devolution
Central Bank
Foreign relations
Related topics

Visitors to Sri Lanka must obtain a visa, either on arrival to Sri Lanka or in advance, unless they are a citizen of one of the visa-exempt countries. Most visitors entering for tourism purposes are required to obtain a visa on arrival, unless they are exempt from obtaining one.[1] However, citizens of some countries must obtain a visa in advance before being allowed to enter Sri Lanka. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.[2]

Visa policy map

[edit]
Visa policy of Sri Lanka
  Sri Lanka
  Visa not required (90 days)
  Visa not required (60 days, 90 days within any 1 year)
  Visa not required (30 days)
  Free ETA or VoA (30 days)
  Electronic Travel Authorization or visa on arrival (30 days)
  Visa required in advance

Visa exemption

[edit]

Ordinary passports

[edit]

Citizens of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Sri Lanka, for stays up to the duration listed below:[3][4][5]

  • Alternatively, citizens of visa-exempt countries who choose to apply for a "Standard tourist visa" online are exempt from paying visa fees.[7]
  • Holders of a United Nations Passport, regardless of nationality, do not need a visa to enter Sri Lanka for a maximum stay of up to 90 days.
  • Holders of a Interpol Passport, regardless of nationality, do not need a visa to enter Sri Lanka for a maximum stay of up to 90 days.
Planned pilot visa-free program

On August 21, 2024, a cabinet decision was made to allow visa-free travel to 35 countries, including the USA, UK, Canada, Russia, Thailand, and Indonesia, from October 1, 2024. This pilot program to last for 6 months.[8][9] On 1 October 2024 it was announced that the plan did not come into effect and that it needs to go through parliamentary approval process which needs to await for the new parliament to convene.[10]. On 25 July 2025 it was announced that the plan will proceed with decision.[11][12]

Non-ordinary passports

[edit]

Holders of diplomatic, official, service or special passports of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Sri Lanka, for stays up to the duration listed below:[3][13][14]

D – Diplomatic passports
O – Official passports
S – Service passports
Sp – Special passports
PA – Passports endorsed for "public affairs".
1 – 90 days
2 – 30 days
3 – 60 days, 90 days within any 1 year-period.
4 – 90 days within any 180-day period.
5 – 30 days within any 60-day period.

Visa on arrival

[edit]

Citizens of all other countries except the visa-exempt countries and countries whose citizens require a visa in advance may obtain a visa on arrival which is good for double entry for tourist or good for multiple entries for business, valid for a maximum stay of 30 days. Visas obtained on arrival are generally discouraged as such visas are not automatically approved for entry into Sri Lanka.[15]

Gratis visa on arrival

[edit]

Due to the discontinuation of the e-Visa system, citizens of the following 7 countries may obtain a gratis visa (single entry) upon arrival in Sri Lanka for tourism purposes only, valid for a maximum stay of 30 days.[16]

Electronic Visa

[edit]

Citizens of all other countries except the countries whose citizens either require a visa obtained on arrival or in advance may also obtain an e-Visa online.[1] The system was suspended in mid-2024 but restarted in September 2024.[17]

Prospective visitors can apply for the following types of tourism/business e-Visas (unless otherwise noted):

Validity Number of entry Duration of stay* Visa fee Note
30 days Single up to 30 days Gratis Only tourists who are citizens of China(including Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia or Thailand may obtain this type of visa. For more details see below.
6 months Double up to 60 days 35 or 75 USD SAARC member states: 35 USD
Non-SAARC member states: 75 USD
1 year Multiple up to 90 days 200 USD People who engage diplomatic or consular activities may get visa fee waived.
2 years Multiple up to 180 days 300 USD
5 years Multiple up to 180 days 500 USD
10 years Multiple up to 180 days 1000 USD

* - Duration of stay demonstrates how many days visitor may stay in each entry.

Moreover, a US$18.50 service fee[18] as well as a US$5 "convenience fee" is charged by VFS Global for each visa application, regardless of the type of e-Visa.[19]

e-Visa restrictions

[edit]
Citizens of Taiwan must select "China (Special Administrative Region of China)" as their nationality when applying for an e-Visa.

Visa required in advance

[edit]

Citizens of the following countries are ineligible to apply for both an e-Visa and a visa on arrival independently,[2] and thus must obtain a visa in advance from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions around the world:[20]

When obtaining a visa at a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission, they must present the following documents:[20]

  • Police clearance report
  • If the applicant is coming from another country after staying for more than 6 months, are required to provide Police clearance from that country and copy of the Visa
  • Certificate from a Sri Lankan guarantor & a photocopy of the guarantors NIC
  • Affidavit from a Sri Lankan JP (justice of peace) or a Lawyer
  • Accommodation information (place of stay)

Entry restrictions

[edit]

Mandatory yellow fever vaccination

[edit]

Citizens of the following countries must present a yellow fever vaccination certificate upon arrival in order to enter Sri Lanka:[20]

History

In 2012, Sri Lanka launched an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, created and operated by Mobitel, a state-owned enterprise.[21]

On 17 April 2024, Sri Lanka replaced its previous Electronic Travel Authorisation system with a new e-Visa system,[7] operated by VFS Global.[18][21]

On 2 August 2024, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka issued an interim order, which suspended the e-Visa system operated by VFS Global and ordered the restoration of the previous ETA system operated by Mobitel.[22]

On 4 August 2024, Ada Derana reported that the Ministry of Public Security would make a final decision the next day, and noted that the suspension of the e-Visa system meant that tourists needed to obtain their visas on arrival.[23]

On 5 August 2024, the Department of Immigration and Emigration notified the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions around the world of the discontinuation of the e-Visa system.[16] According to Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, the old ETA system has yet to be reinstated due to changes made to the Department of Immigration and Emigration's computer system.[24]

On 2 September 2024, Sri Lanka decided to implement visa-free access for citizens of 38 countries, including India, China, Thailand, the UK, the USA, and Indonesia. Although it was initially planned to be implemented on 1 October 2024, the decision was advanced due to the inconvenience caused to tourists at the visa-on-arrival counters, where overcrowding was a significant issue.[25]

Visitor statistics

[edit]
This section is transcluded from Tourism in Sri Lanka. (edit | history)

Most visitors arriving in Sri Lanka on a short-term basis were from the following countries:[26][27][28]

Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka
Country 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
 India 279,122 416,974 302,844 123,004 56,268 89,357 355,002
 Russia 115,470 201,920 197,498 91,272 16,984 49,397 86,549
 United Kingdom 131,377 178,339 130,088 85,187 16,646 55,455 198,776
 Germany 85,144 136,084 102,539 55,542 12,442 34,507 134,899
 France 72,516 88,775 56,251 35,482 6,549 24,838 87,623
 China[29] 78,769 131,681 68,789 4,715 2,417 26,147 167,863
 Australia 60,442 89,573 67,436 30,924 4,421 20,283 92,674
Poland 29,548 44,165 17,946 15,195 2,110 11,908 20,896
 United States 39,635 59,532 46,344 22,230 6,124 16,842 68,832
 Netherlands 41,695 50,116 29,056 11,987 2,422 8,656 38,993
Bangladesh 36,411 39,555 17,846 3,817 1,496 1,986 8,261
 Canada 29,578 42,212 43,944 26,845 5,079 12,346 48,729
Italy 24,443 38,709 22,242 7,449 1,309 8,603 36,147
Japan 19,535 30,429 19,583 3,087 392 6,644 30,079
 Switzerland 20,572 29,829 23,556 13,260 2,974 6,389 29,981
Czech Republic 8,390 19,279 12,056 7,350 1,864 7,599 19,204
 Maldives 21,208 47,222 37,298 18,880 6,272 9,407 60,278
Spain 20,752 37,928 23,905 12,895 2,015 3,385 24,489
Israel 13,014 24,845 19,517 9,326 1,724 3,556 14,770
Kazakhstan 7,286 11,383 5,130 8,068 5,754 2,333 2,399
Austria 6,888 17,103 10,594 5,541 1,502 4,300 14,713
Denmark 6,834 14,952 10,346 7,278 1,302 4,905 16,869
Malaysia 5,796 18,259 10,940 2,779 323 3,494 16,861
Sweden 5,485 13,413 8,643 5,097 1,601 7,061 22,464
Belgium 13,275 17,219 10,667 6,164 1,283 3,371 14,948
Iran 5,196 10,858 10,322 4,301 397 648 3,249
Belarus 4,762 10,933 10,969 3,621 646 2,638 4,796
South Korea 4,583 10,800 7,298 1,843 389 2,499 12,195
 Ukraine 4,378 7,099 5,082 14,917 7,037 17,169 35,051
Lithuania 4,256 6,395 2,722 2,115 383 1,054 2,793
Norway 4,025 11,399 8,747 5,983 1,141 3,019 13,446
Pakistan 14,255 13,451 10,744 6,260 7,520 3,065 14,655
Ireland 3,292 8,747 5,136 3,056 559 2,294 8,254
Singapore 3,261 12,591 9,551 3,770 557 2,545 13,871
Hungary 3,172 6,580 3,786 2,324 445 1,588 4,091
Slovakia 3,158 6,710 4,464 2,432 664 1,513 4,944
Turkey 2,872 6,673 3,739 1,514 309 2,121 4,972
New Zealand 2,703 11,282 7,913 2,866 325 2,324 12,463
Estonia 2,606 3,800 1,808 978 376 1,185 2,516
Romania 2,542 6,407 4,092 3,313 820 1,724 5,463
Portugal 2,364 6,489 3,943 1,906 372 1,602 5,193
Thailand 2,247 7,246 4,922 1,725 247 1,880 9,861
Finland 2,050 4,276 2,287 1,500 341 2,298 7,028
South Africa 1,427 4,872 3,444 1,502 272 1,364 7,132
Slovenia 1,408 3,477 1,927 602 91 800 2,926
Philippines 1,390 5,267 4,164 1,961 529 4,249 14,590
  Nepal 1,370 4,463 4,750 1,065 325 1,384 5,414
Egypt 1,102 4,069 3,091 2,340 400 956 3,708
Saudi Arabia 1,046 5,887 6,797 5,952 1,596 4,755 15,707
Lebanon 976 3,438 3,347 1,606 547 483 4,304
Total 1,368,288 2,053,465 1,487,303 719,978 194,495 507,704 1,913,702

List countries with visa-free access to Sri Lanka.[30]

  1. Australia
  2. Austria
  3. Bahrain
  4. Belarus
  5. Belgium
  6. Canada
  7. China
  8. Czech Republic
  9. Denmark
  10. Finland
  11. France
  12. Germany
  13. India
  14. Indonesia
  15. Iran
  16. Israel
  17. Italy
  18. Japan
  19. Kazakhstan
  20. Kuwait
  21. Malaysia
  22. Maldives
  23. Nepal
  24. Netherlands
  25. New Zealand
  26. Norway
  27. Oman
  28. Pakistan
  29. Poland
  30. Qatar
  31. Russia
  32. Saudi Arabia
  33. Seychelles
  34. Singapore
  35. South Korea
  36. Spain
  37. Sweden
  38. Switzerland
  39. Thailand
  40. Turkey
  41. UAE
  42. UK
  43. USA

See also

[edit]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sri Lanka.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "SL eVisa".
  2. ^ a b "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Gratis Visa".
  4. ^ Breems, Anna van Harwegen den (29 July 2025). "Sri Lanka Expands Visa-Free Entry to Boost Tourism and Investment". CWEIC. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Full list of 40 countries with visa-free entry to Sri Lanka - Breaking News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Sri Lanka - Travel Page". www.mfa.gov.sg. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore). 4 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Sri Lanka implements new online visa system from today". Travel Trade Journal. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Sri Lanka approves visa-free facility for citizens of 35 countries". Ada derana. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  9. ^ Sri Lanka to allow visa free access to 35 countries: Harin
  10. ^ Sri Lanka: no free visas, ETA still necessary and chargeable
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka to offer free visas to 40 countries to boost tourism: Foreign Minister". The Economic Times. 25 July 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Sri Lanka to extend its visa-free travel policy for 40 countries; India also on the list". The Times of India. 26 July 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Visa fee".
  14. ^ "Diplomatic & Official Visits".
  15. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions".
  16. ^ a b Samath, Feizal (6 August 2024). "Sri Lanka reverts to old visa scheme". TTG Asia. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ a b "Sri Lanka opposition leader questions visa fee hike". EconomyNext. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  19. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (6 May 2024). "Tourism-reliant Sri Lanka faces backlash over new visa system". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  20. ^ a b c "Information".
  21. ^ a b Pethiyagoda, Rohan David (4 August 2024). "The VFS Visa Fraud in Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka Guardian". slguardian.org. Sri Lanka Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  22. ^ Padmanabhan, Keshav (3 August 2024). "Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspends controversial e-visa scheme run by consortium including Indian firm". ThePrint. ThePrint.
  23. ^ "Sri Lankan e-visa issuance suspended; final decision tomorrow". www.adaderana.lk. Ada Derana. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Sri Lanka online tourist e-visa resumption date uncertain: Minister". EconomyNext. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Sri Lanka to implement "One Chop" visa-free system for 38 countries". NewsWire. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  26. ^ "TOURIST ARRIVALS BY COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Tourist Arrivals by Region – December 2016 & December October 2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Including Hong Kong and Macau.
  30. ^ "Full list as Sri Lanka waives visa fees for 40 countries". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Visa_policy_of_Sri_Lanka&oldid=1303804437"