Visa policy of Sri Lanka

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. 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.

History

In 2012, Sri Lanka launched an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, created and operated by Mobitel, a state-owned enterprise. Sri Lanka Guardian described the ETA system as having operated "flawlessly" when it was in operation from 2012 to 2024.

On 17 April 2024, Sri Lanka replaced its previous Electronic Travel Authorisation system with a new e-Visa system, operated by VFS Global. However, the new e-Visa system's increased fees were criticised by Sri Lankan opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who claimed that Russian airline Red Wings Airlines had ceased operating flights to Sri Lanka due in part to the increased visa fees, and warned that the tourism industry could be brought to a "standstill".

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. 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.

Visa policy map

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 eVisa (30 days)

  eVisa / Visa on arrival (30 days)

  Visa on arrival (30 days)

  Visa required in advance

The eVisa system is suspended until further notice.

Visa exemption

Ordinary passports

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

Czech Republic (30 days) Hong Kong (30 days) Maldives (90 days)

Seychelles (60 days, 90 days within any 1 year) Singapore (30 days)

Alternatively, nationals of visa-exempt countries who instead choose to apply for a "Standard tourist visa" online are exempt from paying visa fees.

Non-ordinary passports

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:

Bahrain2 D Sp Bangladesh2 D O S Belarus2 D O Benin2 D O S Brazil2 D O S Cambodia2 D O S Chile2 D O China2 D O S PA

Cuba2 D Czech Republic2 D O Georgia4 D O S Hong Kong2 D O S Sp India2 D O Indonesia2 D O S Iran2 D O S Kazakhstan2 D S

Kenya2 D O Maldives1 D O Myanmar2 D O S Oman2 D S Sp Pakistan2 D O Philippines2 D O S Qatar2 D O Romania4 D

Russia2 D O S Seychelles3 D O Singapore2 D O S Thailand2 D O S Ukraine5 D O S Vietnam2 D O S

_{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-waiver agreement for holders of Diplomatic, Official and Service Passports was signed with Benin in January 2024, however they have it is yet to come into force.

Visa on arrival

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.

Citizens of the following countries and territories are ineligible to obtain an e-Visa, but may obtain a visa on arrival in Sri Lanka. When obtaining a visa on arrival, they must provide a passport photo and fill in additional paperwork, such as a "Declaration of Identity for Visa Purpose", in order to be granted the visa.

Kosovo Macau

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)

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.

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, 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 as well as a US$5 "convenience fee" is charged by VFS Global for each visa application, regardless of the type of e-Visa.

Gratis e-Visa

From 24 October 2023 until further notice, citizens of the following 7 countries are eligible for a gratis e-Visa (single entry) for tourism purposes only, valid for a maximum stay of 30 days.

China India Indonesia Japan

Malaysia Russia Thailand

e-Visa restrictions

Taiwan

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

Visa required in advance

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

Cameroon Côte d'Ivoire Ghana

Nigeria North Korea Syria

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

• 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

Mandatory yellow fever vaccination

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

Angola Argentina Benin Bolivia Brazil Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad

Colombia DR Congo Ecuador Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau

Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Panama Peru Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal

Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Suriname Tanzania Togo Uganda Venezuela

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving in Sri Lanka on a short-term basis were from the following countries:

Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka

Country	6/2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
India	184,468	302,844	123,004	56,268	89,357	355,002	424,887
Russia	114,104	197,498	91,272	16,984	49,397	86,549	64,497
United Kingdom	89,352	130,088	85,187	16,646	55,455	198,776	254,176
Germany	70,070	102,539	55,542	12,442	34,507	134,899	156,888
China	63,816	68,789	4,715	2,417	26,147	167,863	265,965
France	49,340	56,251	35,482	6,549	24,838	87,623	106,449
Australia	40,746	67,436	30,924	4,421	20,283	92,674	110,928
United States	32,717	46,344	22,230	6,124	16,842	68,832	75,308
Poland	23,896	17,946	15,195	2,110	11,908	20,896	20,378
Maldives	23,803	37,298	18,880	6,272	9,407	60,278	76,108
Canada	22,223	43,944	26,845	5,079	12,346	48,729	52,681
Netherlands	19,466	29,056	11,987	2,422	8,656	38,993	57,160
Italy	14,228	22,242	7,449	1,309	8,603	36,147	38,379
Switzerland	13,554	23,556	13,260	2,974	6,389	29,981	33,965
Czech Republic	12,443	12,056	7,350	1,864	7,599	19,204	17,600
Japan	12,430	19,583	3,087	392	6,644	30,079	49,450
Spain	12,362	23,905	12,895	2,015	3,385	24,489	29,208
Israel	11,163	19,517	9,326	1,724	3,556	14,770	13,833
Malaysia	8,932	10,940	2,779	323	3,494	16,861	22,808
Kazakhstan	8,611	5,130	8,068	5,754	2,333	2,399	2,721
Austria	8,451	10,594	5,541	1,502	4,300	14,713	19,320
Denmark	8,145	10,346	7,278	1,302	4,905	16,869	19,223
Belarus	7,013	10,969	3,621	646	2,638	4,796	4,621
Belgium	6,790	10,667	6,164	1,283	3,371	14,948	17,519
Sweden	6,538	8,643	5,097	1,601	7,061	22,464	28,267
Pakistan	6,330	10,744	6,260	7,520	3,065	14,655	19,116
Iran	6,220	10,322	4,301	397	648	3,249	5,720
Norway	5,967	8,747	5,983	1,141	3,019	13,446	17,217
Singapore	5,888	9,551	3,770	557	2,545	13,871	19,861
South Korea	5,155	7,298	1,843	389	2,499	12,195	15,748
New Zealand	4,964	7,913	2,866	325	2,324	12,463	13,825
Taiwan	4,948	4,999	363	42	1,985	7,127	8,187
Ireland	4,513	5,136	3,056	559	2,294	8,254	10,830
Ukraine	4,431	5,082	14,917	7,037	17,169	35,051	36,515
Lithuania	4,378	2,722	2,115	383	1,054	2,793	3,386
Slovakia	3,985	4,464	2,432	664	1,513	4,944	5,289
Thailand	3,930	4,922	1,725	247	1,880	9,861	9,178
Hungary	3,915	3,786	2,324	445	1,588	4,091	4,514
Turkey	3,629	3,739	1,514	309	2,121	4,972	4,262
Romania	3,425	4,092	3,313	820	1,724	5,463	5,931
Portugal	2,936	3,943	1,906	372	1,602	5,193	5,933
Estonia	2,775	1,808	978	376	1,185	2,516	2,744
Saudi Arabia	2,714	6,797	5,952	1,596	4,755	15,707	34,703
Philippines	2,614	4,164	1,961	529	4,249	14,590	19,303
Finland	2,394	2,287	1,500	341	2,298	7,028	8,888
South Africa	2,248	3,444	1,502	272	1,364	7,132	7,416
Nepal	2,208	4,750	1,065	325	1,384	5,414	5,302
Egypt	2,017	3,091	2,340	400	956	3,708	3,854
Lebanon	1,885	3,347	1,606	547	483	4,304	5,521
Slovenia	1,579	1,927	602	91	800	2,926	3,902
Total	1,010,249	1,487,303	719,978	194,495	507,704	1,913,702	2,333,796

See also

• Visa requirements for Sri Lankan citizens
• Tourism in Sri Lanka
• Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan passport

External links

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Department of Immigration and Emigration
• Official Sri Lanka eVisa