Visa policy of Sri Lanka

Most travellers visiting Sri Lanka for short-stay purposes (tourism or business) are required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before arrival to Sri Lanka, unless they are exempt from obtaining one.[1][2] 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.[3]

Visa policy map

Visa exemption

Citizens of the following countries can enter Sri Lanka without a visa (they will receive a gratis visa on arrival) and do not need to apply for an ETA for stays up to the duration indicated below:[3][4]

90 days

60 days

30 days

1 – Sixty days at each visit and cumulative duration of ninety days in a year

Electronic Travel Authorisation / Visa on arrival

Citizens of the following countries are eligible to obtain a free ETA to enter Sri Lanka, for stays up to the duration listed below:[2]

30 days


Citizens of other countries, except those from Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, North Korea and Syria, can obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for a fee.[2]

As of March 2026, according to IATA Timatic, an ETA is not mandatory before departure, as travelers from all countries except the six listed above can still obtain a visa on arrival. This also applies to citizens of countries that can obtain a free ETA; however, it is not certain whether the visa on arrival will also be free for them.[3]

The Sri Lankan government recommends that citizens of eligible countries obtain an ETA before departure to ensure smoother entry.

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:[5][6][7]

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.


  • 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.

Visa required in advance

Citizens of the following countries are ineligible to apply for ETA independently,[3] and thus must obtain a visa in advance from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions around the world:[8]

When obtaining a visa at a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission, they must present the following documents:[8]

  • 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:[8]

History

In 2012, Sri Lanka launched an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, created and operated by Mobitel, a state-owned enterprise.[9]

On 17 April 2024, Sri Lanka replaced its previous Electronic Travel Authorisation system with a new e-Visa system,[10] operated by VFS Global.[11][9]

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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15]

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.[16]

The ETA system is experiencing constant problems. The most recently reported issue occurred on 4 March 2026. Until the note is removed from the IATA Timatic system, travelers can still obtain a visa on arrival. [17][3]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving in Sri Lanka on a short-term basis were from the following countries:[18][19][20]

Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka
Country 2026 (Jan) 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
 India 52,061 531,511 416,974 302,844 123,004 56,268 89,357 355,002
 United Kingdom 29,540 212,277 178,339 130,088 85,187 16,646 55,455 198,776
 Russia 27,134 186,580 201,920 197,498 91,272 16,984 49,397 86,549
 Germany 17,776 147,966 136,084 102,539 55,542 12,442 34,507 134,899
 China[21] 14,003 132,035 131,681 68,789 4,715 2,417 26,147 167,863
 France 13,569 109,041 88,775 56,251 35,482 6,549 24,838 87,623
 Australia 11,172 109,487 89,573 67,436 30,924 4,421 20,283 92,674
 Netherlands 7,107 64,164 50,116 29,056 11,987 2,422 8,656 38,993
 United States 7,373 65,973 59,532 46,344 22,230 6,124 16,842 68,832
Bangladesh 4,102 59,563 39,555 17,846 3,817 1,496 1,986 8,261
Poland 10,334 49,989 44,165 17,946 15,195 2,110 11,908 20,896
Italy 5,840 50,430 38,709 22,242 7,449 1,309 8,603 36,147
Spain 3,008 46,038 37,928 23,905 12,895 2,015 3,385 24,489
 Canada 5,048 46,133 42,212 43,944 26,845 5,079 12,346 48,729
Japan 2,896 38,153 30,429 19,583 3,087 392 6,644 30,079
 Maldives 4,789 37,165 47,222 37,298 18,880 6,272 9,407 60,278
 Switzerland 4,146 33,624 29,829 23,556 13,260 2,974 6,389 29,981
Malaysia 1,566 23,684 18,259 10,940 2,779 323 3,494 16,861
Israel 3,455 24,591 24,845 19,517 9,326 1,724 3,556 14,770
Pakistan 1,584 22,296 13,451 10,744 6,260 7,520 3,065 14,655
Belgium 1,915 21,056 17,219 10,667 6,164 1,283 3,371 14,948
Czech Republic 3,265 19,082 19,279 12,056 7,350 1,864 7,599 19,204
Austria 2,811 18,188 17,103 10,594 5,541 1,502 4,300 14,713
Denmark 3,372 17,378 14,952 10,346 7,278 1,302 4,905 16,869
Singapore 1,138 15,086 12,591 9,551 3,770 557 2,545 13,871
New Zealand 1,103 13,456 11,282 7,913 2,866 325 2,324 12,463
Norway 1,717 13,032 11,399 8,747 5,983 1,141 3,019 13,446
South Korea 1,898 12,169 10,800 7,298 1,843 389 2,499 12,195
Sweden 2,605 14,863 8,643 5,097 1,601 7,061 22,464
Ireland 9,388 8,747 5,136 3,056 559 2,294 8,254
Iran 9,143 10,858 10,322 4,301 397 648 3,249
Kazakhstan 8,510 11,383 5,130 8,068 5,754 2,333 2,399
Belarus 8,497 10,933 10,969 3,621 646 2,638 4,796
Thailand 7,812 7,246 4,922 1,725 247 1,880 9,861
 Ukraine 7, 515 7,099 5,082 14,917 7,037 17,169 35,051
Turkey 7,434 6,673 3,739 1,514 309 2,121 4,972
Portugal 7,281 6,489 3,943 1,906 372 1,602 5,193
Slovakia 6,346 6,710 4,464 2,432 664 1,513 4,944
Philippines 6,269 5,267 4,164 1,961 529 4,249 14,590
Lithuania 5,855 6,395 2,722 2,115 383 1,054 2,793
Saudi Arabia 5,785 5,887 6,797 5,952 1,596 4,755 15,707
Hungary 5,455 6,580 3,786 2,324 445 1,588 4,091
United Arab Emirates 5,275 4,296
  Nepal 5,182 4,463 4,750 1,065 325 1,384 5,414
Romania 5,036 6,407 4,092 3,313 820 1,724 5,463
Indonesia 4,599 3,744
South Africa 4,427 4,872 3,444 1,502 272 1,364 7,132
Finland 4,249 4,276 2,287 1,500 341 2,298 7,028
Egypt 3,877 4,069 3,091 2,340 400 956 3,708
Greece 3,813 2,853
Bulgaria 3,638 3,699
Vietnam 3,462 2,963
Estonia 3,445 3,800 1,808 978 376 1,185 2,516
Slovenia 3,234 3,477 1,927 602 91 800 2,926
Lebanon 3,085 3,438 3,347 1,606 547 483 4,304
Latvia 3,021 3,570
Seychelles 2,890 2,691
Jordan 2,704 2,823
Oman 2,473 2,775
Myanmar 2,410 1,515
Armenia 2,067 2,634
Serbia 2,034 2,015
Brazil 1,847 1,945
Croatia 1,741 1,859
Kuwait 1,739 1,885
Iraq 1,560 1,012
Azerbaijan 1,252 2,035
Bahrain 1,229 1,169
Sudan 1,178 941
Cyprus 1,132 1,194
Cambodia 1,121 1,183
Kenya 1,052 807
Mexico 1,031 1,068
Morocco 1,021 1,042
Taiwan n/a n/a 4,999 363 42 1,985 7,127
Countries below 1000 22,248
Total 2,103,593 2,053,465 1,487,303 719,978 194,495 507,704 1,913,702

See also

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sri Lanka.

References

  1. ^ "IMPORTANT NOTICE". immigration.gov.lk. Department of Immigration and Emigration. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "SL ETA".
  3. ^ a b c d e "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Gratis Visa". immigration.gov.lk. Department of Immigration and Emigration. 14 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Gratis Visa".
  6. ^ "Visa fee".
  7. ^ "Diplomatic & Official Visits".
  8. ^ a b c "Information".
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Sri Lanka implements new online visa system from today". Travel Trade Journal. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka opposition leader questions visa fee hike". EconomyNext. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  12. ^ Padmanabhan, Keshav (3 August 2024). "Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspends controversial e-visa scheme run by consortium including Indian firm". ThePrint. ThePrint.
  13. ^ "Sri Lankan e-visa issuance suspended; final decision tomorrow". www.adaderana.lk. Ada Derana. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  14. ^ Samath, Feizal (6 August 2024). "Sri Lanka reverts to old visa scheme". TTG Asia. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Sri Lanka online tourist e-visa resumption date uncertain: Minister". EconomyNext. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Sri Lanka to implement "One Chop" visa-free system for 38 countries". NewsWire. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  17. ^ VisasNews. "Sri Lanka: ETA system back up and running". VisasNews.
  18. ^ "TOURIST ARRIVALS BY COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Tourist Arrivals by Region – December 2016 & December October 2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Including Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan possibly also included from 2024.
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