Entering Sri Lanka is only possible if you have a valid visa. If you are travelling for tourism or a business trip, you can apply for your Sri Lanka visa online. You need to meet all the requirements mentioned on this page to be eligible for this online visa.

Requirements of the e-visa or ETA Sri Lanka

In this page you will find information about the electronic visa (or e-visa) for Sri Lanka, which can be applied for online, a travel authorisation also known as the ETA. Due to the simplicity of the application procedure and its relatively low cost, the ETA is the most popular visa type for Sri Lanka. Travellers who do not meet all the requirements mentioned on this page can most of the times travel to the country anyway. They need to apply for another type of visa at the embassy.

Plan your trip to Sri Lanka

Nationality and passport

The most important requirement regarding the Sri Lanka visa concerns the traveller's nationality. If you are national of an European Union country, such as Ireland, you meet these requirements and are thus eligible for the Sri Lanka visa. This is also the case for citizens of the United Kingdom, Switzerland or a country in North or South America. If you have another nationality, you can check on this page if your nationality is eligible for the ETA. If not, you can see here how to obtain a travel authorisation, depending on your situation.

In order to travel to Sri Lanka, you need to have a passport with a residual validity of six months upon arrival in the country. You also need to travel with the same passport you used for your visa application. If your passport does not have enough validity, you must apply for a new passport before submitting your visa application. Children and babies also need to have their own passport and visa. You can use a standard passport, an emergency passport or a German childrenʼs passport to submit your visa application.

Occupation

The occupation of each traveller needs to be filled in in the form. Diplomats, journalists, professional photographers or media producers cannot apply for their visa online, even if they are travelling to Sri Lanka only for a holiday. Regardless of what they are going to do in Sri Lanka, travellers with these professions need to make an appointment at a consulate or embassy and apply for a special type of visa.

Travel purpose

The ETA for Sri Lanka may only be used for the following travel purposes:

• Tourism
• Business travel
• Medical travel (for instance, ayurvedic treatments)
• Stopover

The term tourism implies taking part in recreational activities (visiting attractions, museums or beaches, as well as the participating in sporting, musical or other events). It also includes visiting family or friends or attending a yoga course, for instance. By business travel is meant the participation in meetings or conferences, short training programmes or business negotiations.

If you intend to make a stopover in Sri Lanka for less than 48 hours and you are not travelling on a ship cruise, you can apply for a transit visa. For this, you need to select 'Transit' on the application form under the question 'Purpose of the trip". Bear in mind that if you are making a cruise with a stopover in Sri Lanka you must always select 'tourism' as the purpose of your trip.

An e-visa does not allow you to work for an organisation based in Sri Lanka; this includes volunteer work. You are also not allowed to engage in journalistic or political activities, nor to make professional recordings (photo or video). It is not permitted to attend conferences or meetings around these subjects, either. In all these cases, you need to obtain a special visa.
I meet all the requirements and want to apply for the visa

What documents do I need to produce upon arrival in Sri Lanka?
The Sri Lanka immigration service controls all the travellers who enter Sri Lanka. Upon arrival in the country, you will need to produce a valid passport and a visa or ETA. Furthermore, you will need to have a return or transit ticket towards another destination, departing from Sri Lanka. The immigration service can ask you to produce a booking confirmation. Finally, you also need to prove that you have enough financial resources to finance your entire stay in Sri Lanka. You can do so, for example, by showing a recent bank statement or your bank app. Make sure you keep all these documents in your carry-on luggage so you can always produce them immediately, and you can have a trouble-free holiday or business trip to Sri Lanka.

What if you don't meet all the requirements?

Only travellers who meet all the mentioned requirements are eligible to apply for the online electronic visa for Sri Lanka. Travellers who do not meet the requirements need to apply for a different type of visa. If you don't know whether you meet all the requirements, or if you have other questions, you can check the frequently asked questions page.