How To Get A Sri Lanka🇱🇰Visa (E-visa)

I aim to give excellent expert first hand experiences on all the aspects of my travels to help you on your way. In 2013, I got my first ever Visa for Sri Lanka. It’s not very difficult to get so I thought, I’d give you a very quick and easy rundown of how I did it. Please note that Sri Lanka changed it’s Visa policies on 1st January 2012 therefore if you have been before and didn’t require a visa, this time you might!

I am posting this advice on how to get a Sri Lanka Visa based on a UK, Netherlands or Irish passport, but the same procedure applies to Hong Kong passports and a host of other countries. First things first, have your flights and accomodation booked in advance(though realistically you could make up your accomodation without booking it).

Where Can I Get a Sri Lanka Visa?

To get a Sri Lanka Visa head to the official Sri Lanka Visa Website. There are a number of cool agencies that also offer online visas in advance so if you choose one of those choose the ETA Sri Lanka online visa – Sri Lanka Visa .

How much does a Visa for Sri Lanka cost?

First of all, if you are heading there as a tourist, you can get a FREE transit Visa for 2 days!! If you are going there for a short 2 day stop over then you can get your FREE Visa on arrival. If you are visiting for 3 – 7 days you should book it online for $20 US Dollars. You will save $5 by doing this – if you turn up in Sri Lanka without a visa they will charge you $25 US Dollars for a 3-7 day Visa. I’m going next month, for 8 days so I applied for the double entry, which is $30 US Dollars. It’s the same price to take a single entry Visa so you might as well get the double entry, at least that’s the way I see it. IN short:

2 day tourist visa – FREE (get it on arrival)

3 – 7 day tourist visa – $20 (online) or $25 (on arrival)

One month double entry tourist visa – $30 (online) or $35 (on arrival)

So Do I Need to Get my Sri Lanka Visa in advance?

No, but you will pay more to get your visa on arrival, plus it means wasting valuable time on your travels filling in forms. For this reason, it’s probably advisable to apply for your FREE tourist 2 day visa online as well, to save time. Take my advice – buy it in advance!!

What details do I need to get my Sri Lanka Visa?

– intended arrival date

– purpose of visit

– port of departure, airline, flight number

– accommodation (you can make this up if you haven’t yet booked anywhere)

– the normal personal details as per any visa application (address, passport, name etc.)

What cards can you pay with?

American Express, Visa and Mastercard.

Any other points to note about getting a Sri Lanka Visa?

Yes, please double check all your details before you click confirm to get the Visa. The reason for this advice is that the Sri Lanka government will reject your visa and charge you for it (for example if you write incorrect date of birth or passport number by mistake). You will still be able to get your Visa second time round by entering the correct information, but you will have to pay the full fee again. Harsh, but fair.

Once you have submitted your application, you will get two e-mails:

1. To confirm your have applied for your Visa

2. To confirm that you have been approved (or not) for your Visa (this e-mail arrived within 5 minutes for me)

So this advice for you is also a preview of my next trip! I visited Sri Lanka in 2013, it was my 69th country on my growing list! I will get my posts up over the next few months!

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Sri Lanka updates and posts to follow! Don’t Stop Living!