| Note: With the recent elections in Sri Lanka, the country has backtracked on this, and stopped rolling out visa-free entry. |
Sri Lanka has just rolled out visa-free entry for nationals of dozens of countries, though the implementation is a bit unusual…
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Sri Lanka cuts visa requirements for many travelers
Effective immediately, Sri Lanka has introduced visa-free entry for travelers with passports from 38 different countries. This was announced by Ali Sabry, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
What’s interesting here is that initially Sri Lanka was going to introduce visa-free entry for nationals of 35 countries as of October 1, 2024. This was intended to be a six month trial, and eligible nations for this were supposed to include Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States.
However, the country has now introduced this policy effective immediately, though in a rather chaotic way. The government website hasn’t been updated to reflect this, and it’s not clear what the additional three countries are that have visa-free entry, beyond the 35 that were on the initial planned list.
So, why has Sri Lanka decided to suddenly end visa requirements for nationals of many countries, ahead of the planned October 1 timeline?
Historically Sri Lanka has allowed travelers to either get an e-visa in advance, or to get a visa on arrival. However, for the past several weeks, the country’s e-visa system has been suspended, due to issues with the third party that manages the e-visa system. As a result, all travelers have needed to get a visa on arrival, leading to long queues.
In order to alleviate the congestion at immigration on arrival, Sri Lanka has decided to just suspend visa requirements altogether for visitors from dozens of nations.
Sri Lanka needs to make visa-free travel permanent
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with friendly people, tasty food, and it can also cater to different kinds of travelers (including those looking for cheap fares). 😉 That being said, there’s no denying that the country has struggled with tourism over the years.
For one, Sri Lanka has had frequent events that have caused tourism to collapse. For example, the country faced a massive terrorist attack back in 2019, which killed over 150 people. But even going back to when I was a teenager, I remember most airlines suspending flights to Colombo, given the civil unrest, including threats of attacks on the airport.
Furthermore, the reality is that there’s just a ton of competition for tourist dollars. Sure, Sri Lanka might attract some value conscious travelers who want a cheap vacation, but for the most part, it’s not exactly known as the highest end tourist destination. There are all kinds of countries in the general region that many travelers may consider first, ranging from the Maldives, to Thailand.
I feel strongly that Sri Lanka needs to do whatever it can to attract as many tourists as possible, and that should include eliminating barriers to travel. Even back in 2019, Sri Lanka was testing the concept of visa-free travel for a period of six months, so I don’t know what the point is of another trial.
Sri Lanka tourism has cratered since 2019 (when the attacks happened, followed by the pandemic), so permanently eliminating visas for eligible travelers should be a no-brainer.
Bottom line
Effective immediately, Sri Lanka has eliminated visa requirements for travelers from 38 countries. While the country was planning a trial as of October, this was ultimately rolled out earlier, due to issues with the country’s e-visa system. It remains to be seen if the easing of visa requirements is a permanent change, or just a trial. Regardless, it’s good news, if you ask me.
What do you make of Sri Lanka introducing visa-free travel?
Ella was already in dire need of help with its solid waste issues when I was there a few years ago.
I happened to be there when Covid atarted shutting everything down. Had to race back to CMB from the east coast to get out.
For sure the main tourist sites have been busy for a long time. But there are lots of national parks so you can find quieter corners to spend...
Ella was already in dire need of help with its solid waste issues when I was there a few years ago.
I happened to be there when Covid atarted shutting everything down. Had to race back to CMB from the east coast to get out.
For sure the main tourist sites have been busy for a long time. But there are lots of national parks so you can find quieter corners to spend time. Certainly better infrastructure is needed. But the Chinese built a lot of stuff (ports, one big highway, airport) that they're going to be paying for for a long time to come
why ireland not included
Irish people can enter for 30day on etavisa.
The original online Government-run e-visa system was fast and cheap. I got my visas within 20 seconds most times. Then someone in Govt was "convinced" to put it out to the private sector to run because..... yet again, profit-making private sector proved its inferior to good government services. Five times the cost, slow, chaotic.
Bhutan should be on the top of the list of free visa countries. Why is Kuwait left out among the GCC states?
Sri Lanka is a beautiful, hospitable and clean island nation. I visited it in 2018 before the terrorist attack, the economic meltdown and Covid. I spent nine nights there. I stayed at the hotel, in the jungle, designed by best known architect Bawa. Highly recommend Sri Lanka.
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The Sri Lankan government needs to do whatever it can to improve the tourism infrastructure. I was there in March 2024 for the first time and the country needs a LOT of help. The country is still reeling from the financial crisis which has been going on for five years. Most of the trained workers have left the country to seek better wages overseas, leaving very few people in the tourism industry who have any...
The Sri Lankan government needs to do whatever it can to improve the tourism infrastructure. I was there in March 2024 for the first time and the country needs a LOT of help. The country is still reeling from the financial crisis which has been going on for five years. Most of the trained workers have left the country to seek better wages overseas, leaving very few people in the tourism industry who have any expertise. Strikes, power outages, corruption, overall apathy and tourist sites that are in need of repair & investment are common. Despite what another reader posted, the country is in desperate need of money the tourists could bring.
I never really thought about visiting Sri Lanka besides seeing it on the Best Ever Food Review show. I will definitely consider it as one of my secondary destinations.
Nothing much can be done to alleviate the bottlenecks without opening CMB Terminal 2 at the earliest and expanding SriLankan’s fleet, modestly at least, in the short run. Given that CMB — old, cramped and low as it is — remains the one and only feasible way of reaching the island, you’d think they should push for that new terminal building sooner, delayed as it is.
Not sure this is accurate but maybe in the past three weeks it has changed. I entered CMB on August 7th after being instructed online that e-visa is suspended for now. Upon landing in CMB I was turned away at the passport inspection and directed to the visa on arrival area. I waited there in line for maybe 10 minutes and was instructed to pay for a visa for two. My favorite line being..."Cash preferred."...
Not sure this is accurate but maybe in the past three weeks it has changed. I entered CMB on August 7th after being instructed online that e-visa is suspended for now. Upon landing in CMB I was turned away at the passport inspection and directed to the visa on arrival area. I waited there in line for maybe 10 minutes and was instructed to pay for a visa for two. My favorite line being..."Cash preferred." I gave them a credit card and asked them what happened to the visa free travel the website was showing? They just shrugged.
Apparently the online companies like VFS were charging so much for processing that they were being inundated with complaints. As such they just suspended the contract without any plan B. Or, perhaps, I experienced a plan B...or C.
And, as to attracting more tourists, are you joking? Ella and Sigiriya (two examples) are overflowing with people and tourism is off the charts all over the country. Please, no, they do NOT need to make it easier...stop with this nonsense.
@ Antwerp -- Regarding attracting more tourists, I'm just reflecting the messaging the government is putting out there. Tourist numbers are still considerably lower than they were in 2018. And at the time, Sri Lanka wanted to attract seven million visitors annually by 2025. Instead, the country will attract around one-third that number. While I don't doubt that you saw some busy tourist sites, that doesn't mean tourism is "off the charts."
I have spent the past six months back and forth to Sri Lanka for just the reasons you mention. Despite what you cite, I assure you, the Govt wants but the Govt can't sustain it without completely screwing it all up. Much like the new airport in the south - they come up with crazy ideas, spend hundreds of millions, and do nothing beneficial. In the meantime tourists still flood all the once pristine regions...
I have spent the past six months back and forth to Sri Lanka for just the reasons you mention. Despite what you cite, I assure you, the Govt wants but the Govt can't sustain it without completely screwing it all up. Much like the new airport in the south - they come up with crazy ideas, spend hundreds of millions, and do nothing beneficial. In the meantime tourists still flood all the once pristine regions and they (the govt) created not a single thing to better manage that aspect.
Ella is a perfect example of a place once so beautiful and pristine that is now overrun with Instagram girls, Instagram swings, and trash overwhelming the area.
There are a few places left in Sri Lanka and I will never disclose where. In the meantime the Govt can better manage the hordes they already have to the standard areas....this before wishing upon itself the demise of a truly beautiful island nation overrun with throngs of "influencers" who turn the entire place into a circus. Be careful what you wish for? Take Boracay as an example....
Ella was indeed "pristine" when I visited in 2017 and remains one of my all-time favorite places. Sad to hear it has degraded.
Further, I really don't think you understand the island at all. Yes, It is culturally rich and diverse but it's not all that big. Despite what the Govt wants you simply can't will seven million tourists annually into the hot spots (which are mostly concentrated into five distinct places) and expect a good outcome. There needs to be far more infrastructure created (which will benefit the Sri Lankans) and a more sustainable approach to development first.