From 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025, tourists from 35 countries will be allowed to travel to Sri Lanka without a visa. This includes travellers with British nationality. This decision follows the sudden suspension of the e-visa Sri Lanka on 2 August 2024.
Visa-free travel to Sri Lanka
On 21 August, Sri Lankan authorities announced that visa requirements will be lifted for travellers from 35 countries. From 1 October 2024, travellers from these countries will be allowed to travel to Sri Lanka without having to apply for a visa. The new rules will apply temporarily until 31 March 2025. Travellers with passports from the countries listed below will be allowed to travel to Sri Lanka without a visa from 1 October.
| Countries eligible for the visa exemption | ||
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Bahrain | Belarus |
| Belgium | Canada | China |
| Denmark | Germany | France |
| India | Indonesia | Iran |
| Israel | Italy | Japan |
| Kazakhstan | Netherlands | Nepal |
| New Zealand | Oman | Austria |
| Poland | Qatar | Russia |
| Saudi Arabia | Spain | Thailand |
| Czech Republic | United Kingdom | United Arab Emirates |
| United States | South-Korea | Sweden |
| Switzerland | ||
Conditions for a visa-free stay
The conditions of the new visa-free travel scheme to Sri Lanka have not yet been fully disclosed. However, it is already known that only travellers whose travel purpose is tourism will be eligible for a visa-free stay. Business travellers or travellers with other purposes of travel are recommended to contact the embassy of Sri Lanka. The duration of a visa-free stay is limited to a maximum of 30 days. After arriving in Sri Lanka, travellers will likely have the option of extending the authorised length of stay at an immigration office. However, this is not expected to be free of charge.
Arriving in Sri Lanka without a visa
If you wish to travel visa-free to Sri Lanka, you must present your passport upon arrival. This passport must have been issued by one of the countries mentioned above. No other travel document or identity document will be accepted. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months upon arrival. You are also advised to bring the following documents with you so that you can present them on arrival if requested:
- A booking confirmation of your return or onward journey from Sri Lanka
- A booking confirmation of an accommodation in Sri Lanka or a letter of invitation from friends/family in Sri Lanka at whose residence you are staying
- A bank statement proving that you have sufficient funds to cover your stay in Sri Lanka
Visa exemption follows suspension of e-visa
The exemption from the visa requirement did not come out of the blue, but resulted from the sudden suspension of the e-visa earlier in August. Sri Lankan authorities could not offer an alternative to the e-visa at short notice, so they asked travellers to apply for a visa on arrival in Sri Lanka. This was expected to cause a lot of chaos and long waiting times at Sri Lanka's airports, as they were not prepared for the increasing demand for visas on arrival. The new visa exemption should prevent the worst problems.
Future of Sri Lanka's visa policy
The visa exemption is a pilot project of the Sri Lankan government. It will allow the authorities to test the effect of a visa waiver on the number of international tourists travelling to the country. If it proves to be a success, the government may choose to prolong the policy. However, the policy is expected to be a temporary measure. Sri Lanka is likely to introduce a new electronic visa or ETA from April 2025.