Sri Lanka's free tourist ETA

Which countries get the free Sri Lanka ETA in 2026?

Forty countries, from Australia to the United States. Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore also get free processing under reciprocal deals.

The list on the official ETA site has been in force since 25 May 2026 and was unchanged in late October 2026. It applies to ordinary passports as well as diplomatic and official ones. Maldivian nationals get 90 days rather than 30.

Check your exact nationality, not your region. Ireland, Portugal and Greece, for example, are not on the list, so their citizens still pay the standard tourist ETA fee shown on eta.gov.lk.

Do you still need to apply for the ETA before you fly?

Yes. The fee is gone, the application is not. Every foreign visitor needs an approved ETA before arriving in Sri Lanka.

The Daily Mirror's report of 25 May 2026 is blunt about it: all foreign nationals must still obtain an ETA before arriving. Airlines check, and turning up without one is the classic way to spend your first hour in Sri Lanka at a desk.

The form takes a few minutes: passport details, travel dates, an address in Sri Lanka (your hotel is fine). Apply as soon as your flights are booked. On the free scheme the payment step is simply skipped, so if a page asks for a card, stop and check the address bar.

How do you avoid fake ETA websites?

Use eta.gov.lk and nothing else. Lookalike sites charge agency fees for a form that now costs nothing for 40 nationalities.

The ETA is issued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, and the department has warned travellers about copycat websites for years. In one warning reported by Ada Derana it listed domains such as eta.org.lk, srilankavisa.lk and e-visa.lk as unofficial.

These sites buy search ads, use the Sri Lankan flag and look official. Some deliver a real ETA, filed on your behalf, and bill you for it. If you qualify for the free scheme, any fee at all means you are on the wrong site.

What do 30 days and double entry mean in practice?

The 30 days start on your first arrival. Within that window you can leave and come back once, for example for a few days in the Maldives.

The official wording is a free visa valid for 30 days, with double entry permitted from the date of first arrival within those 30 days. A second visit after the 30 days are up needs a new ETA.

Staying longer is possible: you apply for an extension in Sri Lanka and pay the extension fee, according to eta.gov.lk. If you paid for an ETA before 25 May 2026, that fee stays paid; the scheme gives no refunds.

What does the free ETA change for a stopover or cruise day in Colombo?

A one or two-day stopover now costs nothing in visa fees for the 40 countries, which makes a Galle or Colombo day trip between flights a much easier sell.

Bandaranaike International Airport is at Katunayake, about 35 km north of Colombo. To leave the airport at all you need an ETA. Travellers outside the 40 countries can look at the short transit ETA for stays of up to two days on the same official site.

With a night in Colombo, the all-included Galle day tour fits a single full day: it runs about 12 hours, with 2 to 3 hours on the road each way. On a shorter layover, stay in town: the Colombo tuk-tuk tour takes 4 hours. Cruise passengers should confirm the ETA with the cruise line and tell any operator the all-aboard time; guests from cruise ships report about 3 hours each way from the port to Galle. Our guide to the best day trips from Colombo compares them all.

A private car down the coast to the stilt fishermen, Jungle Beach and Galle Fort, with lunch and entry fees in the package you pick.

★ 4.8 · 12 hours · from $120

Explore the all-included Galle day tour → Tour details

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