Sri Lanka: visa and entry rules
What you need to get in, how long you may stay, and what an overstay costs
Sri Lanka's borders: every crossing point
Airports 5
Sri Lanka has no land borders — it is an island.
The main gateway is Bandaranaike airport near Colombo; Mattala also takes international flights.
Passenger sea links with India do not run regularly. The ferry across the Palk Strait has been launched and stopped more than once, and it never became a permanent route.
The seaports of Colombo and Galle take cruise ships, and their passengers are processed under separate arrangements.
Bringing a car into Sri Lanka
You cannot drive here under your own steam — there are no land borders.
To rent you need a local driving permit. An International Driving Permit on its own is not enough: it is used as the basis for issuing a temporary Sri Lankan licence at the Automobile Association or at the department of transport.
Traffic drives on the left.
The roads are narrow and busy, average speeds across the country are low, and distances in kilometres are deceptive here.
Renting a tuk-tuk is popular with tourists and requires the same local permit as a car.
Travelling to Sri Lanka with a pet
An import permit is arranged in advance with the veterinary department.
A microchip and a rabies vaccination are compulsory, and an antibody titre test is required.
Quarantine applies, with the length depending on the country of departure.
This is a difficult destination to travel to with an animal, and the preparation takes months rather than weeks.
Overstaying your visa in Sri Lanka
The fine is paid on departure, at a daily rate.
A substantial overstay ends in an entry ban.
An extension costs less than the fine and is arranged in Colombo in a single visit.
What else to check before you go
Updated
Entry rules change faster than anything else on this site, and they change without notice. We cross-check every page against several sources and state the date it was verified, but that does not replace the main step: before you travel, check an official source — the country’s consulate, its immigration service or its e-visa portal. Especially if more than a couple of months have passed since our check.