Sri Lanka Visa Requirements for Tourists

Foreigners coming to Sri Lanka as tourists should have a valid passport with at least 6 months left to run at the time of entry into Sri Lanka.

Nationals of seventy countries listed below do not need a visa to enter Sri Lanka as bona-fide tourists. They will be issued a landing endorsement for 30 days at the point of entry without payment. However if such tourists are proceeding to another country from Sri Lanka they should have a visa to that country if the law of that country requires it.

Nationals of all other countries should possess a valid visa that can be obtained from the Sri Lankan Mission of their country of origin.

Countries Exempt from Visas i.e. All the countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region are exempt from visa:

A : Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan

B : Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria

C : Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic

D : Denmark

E : Estonia

F : Finland

F : France

G : Georgia, Germany, Greece

H : Hong Kong, Hungary

I : India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy

J : Japan

K : Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan

L : Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg

M : Malaysia, Maldives

N : Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway

O : Oman

P : Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal

Q : Qatar

R : Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation

S : Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

T : Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan

U : United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Y: Yugoslavia

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.