Sri Lanka’s Parliament approved regulations on Thursday, May 7, 2026, under the Immigration and Emigration Act allowing nationals of 40 countries to receive a free visa facility for a one-year period.
The measure, introduced by the government to support tourism, confirms progress on a plan already approved by the Cabinet in late March. However, no implementation date has yet been announced.
In practical terms, eligible travelers will be able to obtain a free 30-day visit visa. But this does not amount to a full removal of entry formalities. Sri Lankan authorities have stressed that travelers will still need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization, or ETA, before their trip. Only the ETA visa fee will be waived.
Until now, the free-visa scheme already applied to citizens of seven countries: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and Thailand. With the new regulations approved by Parliament, Sri Lanka is expanding the program to 40 countries in an effort to attract more international visitors.
The 40 countries eligible for free visas to Sri Lanka
Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala told lawmakers today that the measure is intended to support the recovery of the tourism sector. According to the minister, waiving visa fees could lead to a loss of about $75 million in government revenue. However, authorities estimate the policy could attract an additional 247,000 tourists and generate $317 million in extra revenue, resulting in a projected net gain of $242 million.
According to the list presented to Parliament, the 40 eligible countries are:
- Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States,
The list includes several major European travel markets, Gulf countries, key Asian markets and several countries that were already benefiting from the free ETA visa arrangement.
ETA still required before traveling to Sri Lanka
The key point for travelers is that this measure does not turn entry into Sri Lanka into a full visa exemption.
Minister Ananda Wijepala said the other entry procedures will remain in place. Travelers from the eligible countries will therefore still have to complete the required steps, including obtaining an Electronic Travel Authorization, or ETA. The fee waiver applies to the ETA visa charge, not to the removal of the pre-travel application.
Sri Lankan authorities are also presenting this requirement as a national security safeguard. The minister said the government does not intend to implement the measure in a way that could create a security risk for the country, which is why the electronic travel authorization will remain in place.
The program is expected to run for one year, with an assessment planned after six months to determine whether it should continue under the same conditions.
This point will still need to be monitored in the implementing rules and on the official ETA portal, as earlier communications referred to a six-month program. The latest parliamentary step confirms the adoption of the measure, but travelers will need to wait for the official online procedures to be updated to know exactly how it will apply.
What this changes for travelers
For nationals of the 40 eligible countries, the main expected change is the removal of the visa/ETA fee for a 30-day visit to Sri Lanka.
The ETA process will still be required before travel. Travelers will therefore need to continue completing the online application, providing the required information and meeting the usual entry conditions. The measure should not be understood as visa-free entry with no formalities, but rather as a free visa/ETA facility for eligible nationalities.
For Sri Lanka, the goal is clearly tourism-driven. The government hopes to offset the loss of visa-fee revenue through higher international arrivals and increased spending in the country.
