Tourist Visa (ETA), with short visit extensions
An electronic travel authorisation for tourists, granting 30 days on arrival and extendable in paid bands.
There is no single 180 day tourist visa. That is the most persistent false claim in Sri Lankan immigration writing. The 180 days is 30 days on arrival plus a paid extension to 90 days and a second to 180. Each step is a separate application, fee and approval. Agents who sell a “180 day visa” are selling three things and calling them one.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Tourists and short stay visitors. Not a work permit |
| Route family | Visa-free entry with extensions |
| Validity | 30 days on arrival |
| Stay per entry | 30 days, extendable to 90, 180 and 270 days in bands |
| Threshold | USD 50 ETA for most non-SAARC countries, then USD 100 and USD 150 to reach 180 days. About USD 250 total, 2026 |
| Renewal | Extension filed on the Immigration e-services portal after arrival |
| Settlement | None |
| PR clock | None |
| Citizenship clock | None |
| Family | Yes, children under 12 free |
| Local employment | No. Remote work for a foreign employer sits in a grey zone |
| Tax headline | Short stays rarely create tax residency, but 183 days in a tax year can |
| Processing | ETA usually instant to a few days. Extensions take days |
Application flow
- Apply for the ETA online before travel and pay the fee for your nationality.
- Enter and note the exact date your 30 days expire. This date is the only one that matters.
- Before that date, file the first extension on the e-services portal to reach 90 days.
- Before the 90 days expire, file the second extension to reach 180 days.
- If you need 270 days, file a third extension within the 180 day window.
- Keep every approval. Border officers ask for the chain, not just the latest stamp.
Good fit
A trial stay before committing to the Digital Nomad Visa, since three months costs less than a year of residence fees. It also suits a snowbird doing four or five months across a northern winter, or someone visiting family without working locally.
Poor fit
Anyone planning to work for a Sri Lankan employer, which is prohibited and cannot be converted in country. Anyone treating repeated back-to-back stays as de facto residence, because the border notices. Anyone who needs a bank account, a tax number or a lease in their own name.
Watchpoints
- No 180 day visa exists. Thirty days on arrival, then paid extensions. Anyone offering a single 180 day tourist visa is describing a stack of approvals.
- The USD 85 figure is wrong for most passports. A UK, EU, US, Canadian or Australian passport pays about USD 250 for 180 days: USD 50 ETA, then USD 100, then USD 150. Check the official fee table, not a blog.
- Free entry does not mean free extensions. From 25 May 2026, 40 nationalities get a free 30 day ETA. The extension fees still apply from day 31.
- File before expiry, not on the day. Overstaying beyond seven days triggers penalties of USD 250 to USD 500.
- The bands are capped at 270 days. Plan the exit, because there is no fourth extension.
- Remote work is a grey zone. The Digital Nomad Visa exists to regularise what people were doing on tourist extensions.
- Repeated stays attract scrutiny. Back-to-back entries with minimal time abroad are the pattern officers look for.
Sources
- ETA system, visa fee table by nationality. Checked 2026-10-22.
- Department of Immigration and Emigration, fee schedule, extension fees and overstay penalties. Checked 2026-10-22.