All visitors to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

must obtain a visa either on arrival to Sri Lanka or in advance. Most visitors entering for tourism purposes are required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) in order to receive a visa on arrival, unless they are exempt from obtaining one. However, nationals of some countries must obtain a visa in advance instead of an ETA before being allowed to enter Sri Lanka. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

Visa policy map

Free visa on arrival

On the basis of reciprocity, citizens of the following three countries are exempt from the requirement to obtain an ETA for Sri Lanka.
They are entitled to receive a ''gratis visa'' free of charge, on arrival at any port of entry:

Electronic travel authorization

Nationals of any country except the ETA-exempt countries and countries whose citizens require a visa in advance may obtain an ETA either on arrival to Sri Lanka or online;
however, visitors are encouraged to obtain the ETA online to avoid lengthy delays at the port of entry.
Holders of an ETA can then obtain a visa on arrival to Sri Lanka by presenting their ETA and passport to a Sri Lankan immigration officer.
A visa obtained on arrival is valid for 30 days, but can be extended up to 180 days.
The business purpose ETA can be obtained only from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions, as well as the head office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

History

The Sri Lankan Government announced a plan to allow citizens of certain countries to enter Sri Lanka without a visa for stays up to six-months from 1 May 2019, for a trial period of six months.
There was also a plan to extend the facility to countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in the future.
This program was suspended following the

2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital, Colombo, were targeted in a series of coordinated ISIS-related terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, there were smaller expl ...

. A modified version of the plan was implemented on 1 August 2019.
From 1 August 2019 to 30 April 2020 (initially 31 January 2020), nationals of the following countries who were travelling as tourists were exempt from the ETA processing fee, and thus could have obtained an ETA free of charge: In Bid to Revive Tourism, Sri Lanka Extends Free Visa-on-arrival Scheme Till April 30
/ref> *: ''Singaporeans remain exempt from the requirement to obtain an ETA.''

Visa in advance

Citizens of the following 20 countries must obtain a visa in advance from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions:

Non-ordinary passports

Holders of diplomatic, official, service or special passports of the following countries are granted a ''gratis visa'' free of charge, on arrival in Sri Lanka, depending on nationality: _{D — diplomatic passports}
_{O — official passports}
_{S — service passports}
_{Sp - special passports}
_{PA - passports endorsed for "public affairs"}

Admission restrictions

Nationals of the following 7 countries are required to hold return or onward tickets in order to enter Sri Lanka: In addition, nationals of are refused entry and transit, unless they have been approved or cleared by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

to enter or transit in Sri Lanka.

Statistics

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Department of Immigration and Emigration

Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)
{{Visa Requirements

Tourism in Sri Lanka