Sri Lanka will grant free tourist visas to nationals of 40 countries from May 25, 2026, under a circular issued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, Newswire reported. Controller General I. Chaminda Pathiraja signed the circular, with the amended regulations to be published in the Government Gazette on the same day.
Under the scheme, eligible travellers receive a free Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) valid for 30 days with double-entry permission. Visitors who wish to stay beyond the initial 30 days may apply for an extension on payment of the applicable fee. All foreign nationals, except certain diplomatic and official passport holders covered under bilateral arrangements, must still obtain ETA approval before arriving in Sri Lanka.
The circular states that the move follows Cabinet approval granted on March 30, 2026 and subsequent parliamentary approval of amendments to the Immigration and Emigration Act regulations, which MPs cleared on May 7 after months of delay. The administrative circular now puts the policy into operational effect.
The 40 eligible countries are Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nationals of the Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore will continue to receive ETA processing free of charge.
The list covers Sri Lanka’s largest source markets, including India, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and Australia. The waiver is a central plank of the government’s drive to lift visitor numbers after tourism revenue and arrivals were hit by the Iran war and Cyclone Ditwah, with industry bodies having long argued that even modest entry fees deter short-haul leisure travellers comparing Sri Lanka with regional rivals.
Source: Newswire.
