Before coming to Sri Lanka, you should obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) document. Once the ETA is approved it will be issued to you through email as a printable document. When you travel to Sri Lanka, keep a copy of the ETA notice and present it, along with your passport at the port of entry to Sri Lanka. There will be immigration officers who would help you with this. Once the immigration officers receive your ETA and passport, a short stay (30 days) visa will be issued on arrival.
Nationals of Singapore, Maldives, and Seychelles who visit Sri Lanka for a Short Visit of up to 30 days are exempt from ETA.
We strongly recommend that you apply for the ETA online at http://www.eta.gov.lk website and bring the ETA approval document together with the other documents mentioned in their website. Only Visa, Master and American Express Cards are accepted to make the ETA payments.
Very limited facilities are available to obtain your ETA on arrival for some nationals and hence is not recommended.
How to get an ETA
- It is up to the travelers to decide whether to apply as a group or to apply individually. It wouldn’t make a lot of difference in either case.
- Select the “Business ETA” category.
- For the purpose of the visit, select “Conferences, workshops, and seminars”.
- Do note that the fields “port of departure”, “airline/vessel”, and “flight numbers” are all optional and are not mandatory for the ETA. You can book your flights after getting the ETA.
- You DO NEED to include the details of accommodation and their contact information.
- Continue to fill out the application as instructed, make a payment with a credit card and a confirmation email will be sent.
After applying for the ETA it can be tracked at (https://eta.gov.lk/etaslvisa/pages/checkStatus.jsp) where you can check the status of your ETA. Keep your application reference number with you.
When you arrive in Sri Lanka, present the ETA and your passport at the arrivals section of the airport to an immigration officer. A short stay visa (30 days) will be issued to you and you can proceed.
Enjoy your stay in Sri Lanka.