January 9, 2012 - Foreign nationals traveling to Sri Lanka on business must now first obtain an electronic visa through the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) before entering the country.  The new requirement came into effect on Jan. 1 for all nationals except citizens of Singapore and Maldives.  Visitors traveling on a visa issued prior to Jan. 1, 2012, will be able to use said visa as long as they travel within that visa’s validity period.  Valid for 30 days (extendable in-country for up to 90 days), the visa will allow foreign nationals to stay in-country for appropriate visitor activities.  Foreign nationals who arrive in Sri Lanka without obtaining a visa through ETA will be able to obtain a visa on arrival, but will be required to pay the corresponding ETA processing fee.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Sri Lanka.  For additional information, please contact GlobalVisaGroup@balglobal.com.