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Visitors to Sri Lanka visiting for tourism purposes must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) prior to arrival or on arrival to Sri Lanka. Holders of ETA from all countries except the 3 exempt countries obtain a visa on arrival that is valid for 30 days. The Business purpose ETA can be obtained only from Sri Lankan diplomatic missions and head office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months. Nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria must hold return or onward tickets. Visitors are strongly urged to use the online system to avoid lengthy delays at the port of entry.
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ETA exemption
On the basis of reciprocity, citizens of the following 3 countries are exempt from the requirement to obtain the Electronic Travel Authorization and can obtain a visa on arrival free of charge:
Citizens of India and Russia also do not require a visa if holding a diplomatic or official (service) passport. An agreement on visa waiver for holders of diplomatic and official passports of Philippines was signed in October 2016 and is yet to come into force.
Visa in advance
Citizens of the following 19 countries must obtain a visa in advance from one of the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions:
Statistics
Most visitors arriving to Sri Lanka for tourism purpose were from the following countries of residence: