Sri Lanka To Launch Visa-Free Travel Trial For Nationals Of 35 Countries On October 31, 2024

August 28, 2024 Vaseline blog 0

Sri Lanka To Launch Visa-Free Travel Trial For Nationals Of 35 Countries On October 31, 2024

Sri Lanka is trying to boost its lacking tourism sector by launching a six-month visa-waiver travel trial on October 1, 2024, for nationals of 35 countries who can stay in the country for up to 30 days.

The program was set to start with 67 countries, but the list was trimmed down to 35. It is unclear if these nationals need to apply for an ETA before arrival and when the E-Visa website is again back up that was shut down earlier this month due to a supreme court order (possible corruption).

You can access Sri Lanka’s immigration page here.

Visa-Free Eligible Countries October 1, 2024:

  1. United Kingdom
  2. Germany
  3. Netherlands
  4. Belgium
  5. Spain
  6. Australia
  7. Denmark
  8. Poland
  9. Kazakhstan
  10. Saudi Arabia
  11. UAE
  12. Nepal
  13. China
  14. India
  15. Indonesia
  16. Russia
  17. Thailand
  18. Malaysia
  19. Japan
  20. France
  21. United States
  22. Canada
  23. Czech Republic
  24. Italy
  25. Switzerland
  26. Austria
  27. Israel
  28. Belarus
  29. Iran
  30. Sweden
  31. South Korea
  32. Qatar
  33. Oman
  34. Bahrain
  35. New Zealand

Sri Lanka’s government immigration website keeps referring to this visa website, which has been shut down due to a court order. It is unclear how visas are currently processed for those who don’t need to apply before arrival (huge lines?).

Conclusion

Sri Lanka appears to have high hopes for raising the number of incoming tourists, but it likely won’t be the first choice in the region for many.

This visa-free/visa-waiver travel is scheduled to begin in a month, and the website for the country’s e-visas has been shut down due to possible corruption by the country’s supreme court.

These visa fees bring some revenue for the government, but how off-putting they are for visitors from countries that can choose to go to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and many others in the region without paying anything.

The country went through a civil war and has had significant economic and political turbulence lately. It is also unclear what will happen to the national airline, SriLankan Airlines, in the medium/long term. The airport is borderline pure chaos, especially when leaving the country, but transiting is a smoother experience.

I have been to Sri Lanka and Colombo many times in the past, especially when the lowest premium fares were often available ex-CMB (and you could even do an immediate turn). I am scheduled to visit the country again later this year on an ex-Cairo issued business RTW. I hope that the application madness will be resolved by then.

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