Sri Lanka | Visa-free entry expanded

The government of Sri Lanka has expanded its visa-free entry policy to 35 countries.

Key Points:

• The government recently extended the visa-free travel policy for nationals of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and Thailand.
• Effective Oct. 1, foreign nationals from 35 countries will qualify for visa-free entry and be granted a single-entry tourist visa for a maximum period of 30 days.
• The policy is effective for six months and includes the following countries:
  • Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Additional Information: As BAL previously reported, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka recently issued an interim order suspending a new eVisa platform, which was originally implemented in April 2024. Government officials have recently undertaken several policy updates designed to simplify the visa system and attract more investors and tourists, and the new visa-free expansion is designed to compete with neighboring destinations in the field of tourism.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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