Sri Lanka Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into Sri Lanka.
Official government links
View official visa and immigration links for Sri LankaTravel news
No travel news yet for Sri Lanka.
Guide
Since 25 May 2026, travelers from 40 countries can get Sri Lanka's tourist visa for free. The Electronic Travel Authorisation is still mandatory, and it is still the way you get the visa, but the fee has been waived for eligible nationalities. What you receive is a 30 day tourist visa that allows double entry, meaning you can leave and return once, with the second visit falling within the original 30 days. The eligible list includes Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others. The report of the change gave no end date, and fees paid before 25 May are not refunded.
The waiver is not a blanket rule. Extensions beyond 30 days still carry standard fees, and citizens of the Maldives, Seychelles, and Singapore, who were previously exempt from the ETA, now have to apply through it, with free processing.
Border crossings
- An island with no land border
Every arrival is by air or sea, so the only question is which airport or which ferry, and the ETA applies to both.
- India by ferry, Nagapattinam to Kankesanthurai
A passenger ferry across the Palk Strait to Kankesanthurai, near Jaffna, launched in October 2023 and resumed on 16 August 2024. The Cheriyapani covers roughly 110 kilometers in three to four hours depending on the sea, and has carried around 52,000 passengers since resuming. India extended financial support of nearly 300 million rupees for a further year in September 2026, the third year in a row, and plans an Indian grant of 65 million US dollars to rehabilitate Kankesanthurai Harbour.
Transit routes
- Get the ETA before you fly or sail
The approval does not amount to visa-free entry, so travelers from every eligible country still need to obtain one before departure.
- The ferry is a real alternative to flying from southern India
It links Tamil Nadu with Sri Lanka's north and runs with Indian government funding that has been renewed each year, so check that it is running before you plan around it.
Entry point notes
- Free does not mean skip it
The ETA is the step that produces your visa, so do it even though it costs nothing.
- Thirty days, counted from your first arrival
A second entry does not restart the clock. The remaining balance applies when you return.
- Check whether your nationality is on the list
Forty nationalities qualify, and everyone else pays the standard ETA fee, so look up your own passport on the official site.