Do I need a visa for Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka sets its own entry requirements and applies them by nationality. The answer also depends on why you are travelling. The rule for a holiday is often not the rule for work, study or a long stay, so check that the answer you are reading is the one for your trip.
Now pick the passport you travel on.
Entry rules by passport
Select your nationality for the full answer: stay length, passport validity, pre-registration and how to apply.
These links go to our partner Evisa Express. trip1 earns a commission if you apply through one, at no extra cost to you. You can always apply directly with the government instead.
Need a visa for Sri Lanka?
Apply through our partner Evisa Express. Forms, fees and government submission are handled, with status updates until it is approved.
trip1 earns a commission if you apply through this link. It costs you nothing extra.
What to do next
The part most visa checkers leave out: what actually needs doing before you fly.
Confirm with the official source
Rules change without notice, and only the immigration authority of Sri Lanka can tell you where you stand. Search for its official site before you travel.
Check your passport
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond your arrival date. Renew first if you are close, because this is the most common reason travellers are turned away.
Check the rule for your own passport
What Sri Lanka asks for depends on the passport you travel on, and the table above differs from row to row. Open your nationality for the stay length, the validity required and whether anything has to be applied for.
Common questions
Entry to Sri Lanka, answered from the same rules the table shows.
On the 21 most-checked passports listed above, yes: every one has to arrange something before travelling to Sri Lanka. The table gives the exact document each nationality needs.
6 months. Renew before you travel if you are close to that, because it is one of the most common reasons travellers are refused boarding — by the airline, before they ever reach the border.
Not for any of the 21 most-checked passports listed above. Nationalities outside that list may still be offered one, so check the rule for the passport you hold.
Not for any of the 21 most-checked passports listed above. Nationalities outside that list may still have one available.
No separate arrival registration is listed for Sri Lanka. Your airline may still ask for advance passenger information, which is not the same thing and is handled at check-in.
Once you are in Sri Lanka
Where trip1 travellers go, and what to read before you book.
Travelling somewhere else?
Check any passport against any destination
