Sri Lanka Visa for Indians

Whether the visit is for tourism, business, studies, transit or any other reason, the qualifying applicant must select the appropriate visa application form to initiate the application process. Currently, Sri Lanka offers few of these most common types of visas:

1. Visit Visa - This visa category allows the applicants to apply for Tourist Visas and Business Visas under the short-stay non-immigrant visa policy. Indian Passport holders can apply for the ETA prior to their arrival in Sri Lanka. The visa allows the holders to stay up to a maximum of 30 days. Visitors under the Tourist Visa category are not allowed to be employed in Sri Lanka.
2. Employment Visa - The qualifying factors depends on the applicant's profession, employer's profile, etc. The applicants will need to provide valid travel documents and specified letters to carry out the application process.
3. Residence Visa - Individuals can apply for a residence visa if they are eligible for a visa under the Student, Investor, Religious, and other specified categories.
4. Transit Visa - A Transit Visa allows the individual to travel through Sri Lanka to another destination country. The applicant is only required to provide basic travel documents and the copy of his/her travel tickets.

Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)

Applicants are provided with the following options to carry out the application for an ETA:

1. By the applicant itself
2. By a third party
3. By one of the registered agents
4. Applying at the Sri Lanka Missions
5. Applying at the Department of Immigration and Emigration (DI&E)
6. While arriving at the port of entry in Sri Lanka

The ETA application requires the applicants to visit the website - https://eta.gov.lk for ETA related services.

Sri Lanka Visa Application

The visa/ETA application process for tourism and transit requires the applicants to fill in the application form, attach the documents, and pay the ETA fee. The ETA for business has been suspended as of now. Applicants can also take advantage of the limited facility of ETA on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Colombo. The application for ETA on arrival requires payment of an additional fee which is subject to applicable factors. The ETA is issued for 30 days which can be extended up to six months based on requirements.

ETA Application Process

The ETA application process consists of the following steps:

1. Application form: Applicants are required to fill all mandatory fields and submit the application
2. Review: Once the application is completed, it needs to be reviewed by the applicant to ensure there are no errors or wrong information.
3. Payment: Based on the type of the ETA, the applicants are required to make the applicable payment for the ETA application. Applicants are provided with multiple options for fee payment.
4. Acknowledgment: After successful payment of the visa fee, the applicants will receive the ETA confirmation which is needed for future reference, even while the check the ETA application status.

Checking ETA Application Status

After applying for the ETA, applicants can visit the website - https://eta.gov.lk/etaslvisa/pages/checkStatus.jsp to check the approval status of the ETA. The following details are needed to check the status:

1. Enter Confirmation Code
2. Enter Passport Number
3. Nationality

If the applicant has the Confirmation Code, he/she won't need to provide the passport number, however, if he/she doesn't have the Confirmation Code, the status can be checked with the passport number only.

Sri Lanka Visa Fees