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]

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.

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]

e-Visa can be applied for tourism or business reasons and includes following types (unless otherwise noted):

_{1 - Duration of stay demonstrates how many days visitor may stay in each entry.}

In addition, a 18.50 USD service fee is charged by VFS Global for each visa application.^[4]

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:^[10]

When obtaining a visa at a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission, they must present the following documents:^[10]

• 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)

Most visitors arriving in Sri Lanka on a short-term basis were from the following countries:^[11][12]

More information Country, 3/2024 ...

Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka

Country	3/2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
India	96,279	302,844	123,004	56,268	89,357	355,002	424,887
Russia	91,205	197,498	91,272	16,984	49,397	86,549	64,497
United Kingdom	58,819	130,088	85,187	16,646	55,455	198,776	254,176
Germany	48,176	102,539	55,542	12,442	34,507	134,899	156,888
China[13]	39,212	68,789	4,715	2,417	26,147	167,863	265,965
France	33,382	56,251	35,482	6,549	24,838	87,623	106,449
Australia	21,762	67,436	30,924	4,421	20,283	92,674	110,928
Poland	19,498	17,946	15,195	2,110	11,908	20,896	20,378
United States	19,038	46,344	22,230	6,124	16,842	68,832	75,308
Netherlands	12,249	29,056	11,987	2,422	8,656	38,993	57,160
Canada	12,072	43,944	26,845	5,079	12,346	48,729	52,681
Czech Republic	10,324	12,056	7,350	1,864	7,599	19,204	17,600
Italy	9,181	22,242	7,449	1,309	8,603	36,147	38,379
Switzerland	8,361	23,556	13,260	2,974	6,389	29,981	33,965
Kazakhstan	8,298	5,130	8,068	5,754	2,333	2,399	2,721
Maldives	7,716	37,298	18,880	6,272	9,407	60,278	76,108
Japan	7,234	19,583	3,087	392	6,644	30,079	49,450
Spain	6,746	23,905	12,895	2,015	3,385	24,489	29,208
Austria	6,431	10,594	5,541	1,502	4,300	14,713	19,320
Denmark	6,199	10,346	7,278	1,302	4,905	16,869	19,223
Belarus	5,891	10,969	3,621	646	2,638	4,796	4,621
Iran	5,196	10,322	4,301	397	648	3,249	5,720
Sweden	5,155	8,643	5,097	1,601	7,061	22,464	28,267
Malaysia	5,067	10,940	2,779	323	3,494	16,861	22,808
Israel	4,973	19,517	9,326	1,724	3,556	14,770	13,833
Belgium	4,455	10,667	6,164	1,283	3,371	14,948	17,519
Romania	4,455	4,092	3,313	820	1,724	5,463	5,931
Lithuania	3,835	2,722	2,115	383	1,054	2,793	3,386
Norway	3,588	8,747	5,983	1,141	3,019	13,446	17,217
Ukraine	3,585	5,082	14,917	7,037	17,169	35,051	36,515
Hungary	3,440	3,786	2,324	445	1,588	4,091	4,514
Taiwan	3,431	4,999	363	42	1,985	7,127	8,187
South Korea	3,368	7,298	1,843	389	2,499	12,195	15,748
Pakistan	3,196	10,744	6,260	7,520	3,065	14,655	19,116
Slovakia	3,114	4,464	2,432	664	1,513	4,944	5,289
Singapore	2,832	9,551	3,770	557	2,545	13,871	19,861
Ireland	2,679	5,136	3,056	559	2,294	8,254	10,830
Estonia	2,498	1,808	978	376	1,185	2,516	2,744
New Zealand	2,331	7,913	2,866	325	2,324	12,463	13,825
Thailand	2,149	4,922	1,725	247	1,880	9,861	9,178
Finland	1,867	2,287	1,500	341	2,298	7,028	8,888
Turkey	1,853	3,739	1,514	309	2,121	4,972	4,262
Portugal	1,811	3,943	1,906	372	1,602	5,193	5,933
Nepal	1,442	4,750	1,065	325	1,384	5,414	5,302
Saudi Arabia	1,151	6,797	5,952	1,596	4,755	15,707	34,703
Philippines	1,097	4,164	1,961	529	4,249	14,590	19,303
Egypt	971	3,091	2,340	400	956	3,708	3,854
Total Foreign Arrivals	635,784	1,487,303	719,978	194,495	507,704	1,913,702	2,333,796

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sri Lanka.

• Visa requirements for Sri Lankan citizens
• Tourism in Sri Lanka
• Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan passport