Sri Lanka ETA: the electronic visa is now free before your road trip

To revive its tourism, Sri Lanka approved in spring 2026 a visa fee waiver for citizens of 40 countries — including France, most European countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. Concretely, since 25 May 2026 the tourist ETA is issued at no charge, where it previously cost several tens of dollars. The scheme was announced for a one-year period: if your departure is far off, check it is still in force when you apply.

The authorisation covers a 30-day stay from first entry, with double entry: you can leave the territory (a Maldives side trip, say) and return once, within the original 30 days. This bet on openness rests on a finding solidly documented by research: in a study published in 2010 in The Professional Geographer using bilateral traveller flows, Eric Neumayer estimated that visa requirements cut arrivals by more than half on average — the strongest documented deterrent effect of any administrative barrier to travel (study on Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Neumayer+visa+restrictions+bilateral+travel+Professional+Geographer).

You apply exclusively online on the Sri Lankan immigration's official site, eta.gov.lk, with a passport valid at least six months on arrival. The form asks the usual details (identity, passport, flight and first night's address) and the answer generally arrives by e-mail within 24 to 48 hours. Print the confirmation or keep it accessible offline: it is checked at boarding and again on arrival, where the officer stamps your stay.

The classic trap is the same as for every electronic travel authorisation: intermediary websites. Searching “Sri Lanka ETA” surfaces official-looking private platforms charging €30 to €80 for a now-free procedure, adding no value beyond copying your answers into the real form — regularly with typos that block everything at the airport. The address to remember: eta.gov.lk, nothing else. If you're asked to pay for a 30-day tourist stay, you are not on the official site.

Sri Lanka rewards slow travel — cultural triangle, tea mountains, east coast or Jaffna peninsula depending on the monsoon. If 30 days aren't enough, a stay extension can be requested from the immigration department in Colombo (or online depending on the period), for fees that were not waived. The standard extension takes the stay to 90 days in total, renewable once — start the process a good week before your initial stamp expires.

Note also that the free ETA is strictly for tourism: business, filming, volunteering or work fall under other categories, which are paid and require supporting documents. Working on a tourist ETA exposes you to cancellation of your stay.

The ETA sorts out entry, not the steering wheel. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries where neither your national licence nor an International Driving Permit alone is enough: your licence must be validated locally — a temporary Sri Lankan driving permit or recognition via the Automobile Association of Ceylon, including to drive a rented tuk-tuk. Our dedicated article details the procedure, fees and the agencies that handle it for you.

With both papers in hand, the island opens up beautifully: distances are short, back roads are gorgeous, and the driving — on the left, dense and horn-happy in cities — turns peaceful as soon as you leave the Colombo area. To build your itinerary around the seasons, our Sri Lankan monsoon guide will keep you off the wrong coast.