Travelling to Sri Lanka

For travelling to Sri Lanka, overseas passport holders need a visa. Tourists visiting Sri Lanka van apply for a single entry Tourist Visa, Business Visa, Residence Visa or Transit Visa. The single entry tourist visa has a maximum validity of up to one month.

Irrespective of the purpose of visit, foreigners are required to obtain a visa from the respective Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions. To apply for visa, one needs to possess a return air ticket, funds in the range of $30 per day and valid travel documents.

The passport of the tourist should have at least six months validity beyond the entry date and must contain at least one blank page. The validity of business visa is 90 days, provided the passport remains valid for a period of stay not exceeding 30 days. Further, business travellers can also apply for three months multiple entries visa.

Citizens belonging to 77 countries, including Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Denmark can enter Sri Lanka without a prior visa.

Other countries, whose nationals can obtain on-arrival visa in Sri Lanka are Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, UK, USA and others. These nationalities do not need to apply for transit visa with the Sri Lankan Embassy before their transit.

Documents required for Visa to Sri Lanka
Indian nationals visiting Sri Lanka can obtain on-arrival visa at the ports of entry. The documents required for obtaining this include valid passport, application form, photographs and visa fees. The validity of the on-arrival visa is 30 days, which can be extended for 2 months.

The visa fee for Indians for obtaining on-arrival visa is $3.32, with tax of $0.03. Visa can be extended at the Department of Immigration and Emigration head office in Sri Lanka. To extend the visa, one needs visa application, copy of the bio-data page of the passport, two photographs and relevant visa fee.

A single-entry visa is valid for up to three months, while multiple-entry visa has a validity of multiple-entry. British passport holders need to pay $61.75 for single-entry visa. Irish passport holders need to pay $17.87 for single entry visa. For business multiple-entry visa, Irish nationals need to pay $53.61. One can extend the validity of his visa at the Department of Immigration & Emigration in Sri Lanka.

To obtain business visa, one needs to submit a business letter of responsibility typewritten on official letterhead addressed to the Sri Lankan Embassy in the concerned country. The letter must state the nature of the business to be performed and the name of the business reference to be visited.

Further, the letter should also guarantee sufficient financial support for the visit and return transportation to the country of origin. The sponsor letter needs to be signed by a company officer other than the applicant.

The sponsor in Sri Lanka needs to send a fax to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in the country of origin, stating the name of the applicant, confirming the business trip. The time required to issue the visa is two days.

For more information, please contact:
High Commission of Sri Lanka
27, Kautilya Marg
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi-110021.
Tele: +91-11-2301-0201
Fax: +91-11-2379-3604
E-mail: lankacomnd@bol.net.in
Website: www.slhcindia.org
Timing: 8:45 am – 5:30 pm (Monday to Friday)