Visa policy of Sri Lanka

Entry stamp
Exit stamp
Sri Lankan Entry and exit stamps issued to a national of Singapore.

Visitors to Sri Lanka visiting for tourism purposes must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) prior to arrival or on arrival to Sri Lanka. Holders of ETA from all countries except the 3 exempt countries obtain a visa on arrival that is valid for 30 days. The Business purpose ETA can be obtained only from Sri Lankan diplomatic missions and head office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration.[1][2] All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months. Nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria must hold return or onward tickets.[3] Visitors are strongly urged to use the online system to avoid lengthy delays at the port of entry.[4]

Visa policy map

Visa policy map of Sri Lanka

ETA exemption

On the basis of reciprocity, citizens of the following 3 countries are exempt from the requirement to obtain the Electronic Travel Authorization and can obtain a visa on arrival free of charge:[5]

  •  Maldives (30 days, extendable to 150 days)
  •  Seychelles (60 days, up to 90 days in a single year)
  •  Singapore (30 days, extendable to 150 days)

Citizens of India and Russia also do not require a visa if holding a diplomatic or official (service) passport.

Visa waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic and official passports was signed with  Philippines in October 2016 and it is yet to come into force.[6]
Visa waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic was signed with  Romania in June 2017 and it is yet to come into force.[7]
Visa waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic and official passports was signed with  Bangladesh in July 2017 and it is yet to come into force.[8]

Visa in advance

Citizens of the following 19 countries must obtain a visa in advance from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions:

Statistics

Most visitors arriving to Sri Lanka for tourism purpose were from the following countries of residence:[9][10]

Country 2016 2015
 India 356,729 316,247
 China 271,577 214,783
 United Kingdom 188,159 161,845
 Germany 133,275 115,868
 France 96,440 86,126
 Maldives 95,167 90,617
 Australia 74,496 63,554
 Russia 58,176 61,846
 United States 54,254 47,211
 Canada 44,122 37,732
Total 2,050,832 1,798,380

See also

References

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