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 an electronic visa (e-Visa) or a visa on arrival, unless they are exempt from obtaining one.^[1] However, citizens of some countries must obtain a visa in advance instead of an e-Visa before being allowed to enter Sri Lanka. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.^[2]

On 17 April 2024, Sri Lanka replaced its previous Electronic Travel Authorisation system with a new e-Visa system,^[3] operated by VFS Global.^[4] 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".^[4]

Visa policy map

Visa exemption

Ordinary passports

On the basis of reciprocity, citizens of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Sri Lanka, for stays up to the duration listed below:^[5]

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

Seychelles (60 days, 90 days within any 1 year)
Singapore (30 days)^[6]

Alternatively, nationals of visa-exempt countries who instead choose to apply for a "Standard tourist visa" online are exempt from paying visa fees.^[3]

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]^[7]^[8]

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 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.^[9]

Citizens of the following countries and territories are ineligible to obtain an e-Visa, but may obtain a visa on arrival in Sri Lanka.^[2] 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.

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.^[1]

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 from 24 October 2023 to 31 May 2024.
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^[4] as well as a US$5 "convenience fee" is charged by VFS Global for each visa application, regardless of the type of e-Visa.^[10]

Gratis e-Visa

From 24 October 2023 to 31 May 2024, 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.^[11]

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,^[2] and thus must obtain a visa in advance from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions around the world:^[11]

When obtaining a visa at a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission, they must present the following documents:^[11]

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:^[11]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving in Sri Lanka on a short-term basis were from the following countries:^[12]^[13]

Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka
Country	4/2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
India	123,583	302,844	123,004	56,268	89,357	355,002	424,887
Russia	106,308	197,498	91,272	16,984	49,397	86,549	64,497
United Kingdom	71,992	130,088	85,187	16,646	55,455	198,776	254,176
Germany	58,019	102,539	55,542	12,442	34,507	134,899	156,888
China^[14]	47,730	68,789	4,715	2,417	26,147	167,863	265,965
France	42,174	56,251	35,482	6,549	24,838	87,623	106,449
Australia	28,964	67,436	30,924	4,421	20,283	92,674	110,928
United States	24,612	46,344	22,230	6,124	16,842	68,832	75,308
Poland	21,847	17,946	15,195	2,110	11,908	20,896	20,378
Netherlands	15,686	29,056	11,987	2,422	8,656	38,993	57,160
Canada	15,666	43,944	26,845	5,079	12,346	48,729	52,681
Czech Republic	11,603	12,056	7,350	1,864	7,599	19,204	17,600
Italy	11,426	22,242	7,449	1,309	8,603	36,147	38,379
Switzerland	10,918	23,556	13,260	2,974	6,389	29,981	33,965
Maldives	10,654	37,298	18,880	6,272	9,407	60,278	76,108
Japan	9,183	19,583	3,087	392	6,644	30,079	49,450
Spain	8,912	23,905	12,895	2,015	3,385	24,489	29,208
Kazakhstan	8,450	5,130	8,068	5,754	2,333	2,399	2,721
Israel	8,142	19,517	9,326	1,724	3,556	14,770	13,833
Austria	7,523	10,594	5,541	1,502	4,300	14,713	19,320
Denmark	7,021	10,346	7,278	1,302	4,905	16,869	19,223
Belarus	6,643	10,969	3,621	646	2,638	4,796	4,621
Malaysia	6,344	10,940	2,779	323	3,494	16,861	22,808
Sweden	5,692	8,643	5,097	1,601	7,061	22,464	28,267
Iran	5,622	10,322	4,301	397	648	3,249	5,720
Belgium	5,369	10,667	6,164	1,283	3,371	14,948	17,519
Lithuania	4,236	2,722	2,115	383	1,054	2,793	3,386
Norway	4,136	8,747	5,983	1,141	3,019	13,446	17,217
Ukraine	4,022	5,082	14,917	7,037	17,169	35,051	36,515
South Korea	4,005	7,298	1,843	389	2,499	12,195	15,748
Pakistan	3,993	10,744	6,260	7,520	3,065	14,655	19,116
Taiwan	3,882	4,999	363	42	1,985	7,127	8,187
Singapore	3,690	9,551	3,770	557	2,545	13,871	19,861
Hungary	3,677	3,786	2,324	445	1,588	4,091	4,514
Slovakia	3,649	4,464	2,432	664	1,513	4,944	5,289
Ireland	3,525	5,136	3,056	559	2,294	8,254	10,830
New Zealand	3,447	7,913	2,866	325	2,324	12,463	13,825
Romania	3,086	4,092	3,313	820	1,724	5,463	5,931
Thailand	2,983	4,922	1,725	247	1,880	9,861	9,178
Turkey	2,763	3,739	1,514	309	2,121	4,972	4,262
Estonia	2,734	1,808	978	376	1,185	2,516	2,744
Portugal	2,341	3,943	1,906	372	1,602	5,193	5,933
Finland	2,105	2,287	1,500	341	2,298	7,028	8,888
Nepal	1,726	4,750	1,065	325	1,384	5,414	5,302
Philippines	1,675	4,164	1,961	529	4,249	14,590	19,303
Saudi Arabia	1,511	6,797	5,952	1,596	4,755	15,707	34,703
Egypt	1,429	3,091	2,340	400	956	3,708	3,854
Total	784,651	1,487,303	719,978	194,495	507,704	1,913,702	2,333,796