Sri Lanka has increased its visa fees and, at the same time, has launched a new e-visa system to ensure efficiency and convenience.
According to the Sri Lankan authorities, the e-visa system will replace the Electronic Travel Authorization method that has been applied so far.
By making such a replacement, the country wants to make travel to Sri Lanka more convenient for travelers from all over the world, VisaGuide.Wolrd reports.
As Travel Trade Journal explains, now that ETA has been replaced with the e-visa system, the requirements, fees, as well as the validity period of visas have been updated.
Standard Tourist Visa Fee Increased to $75 for Non-SAARC Countries
In line with the newly updated fees, nationals of countries that are not part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will now have to pay $75 for a standard tourist visa, representing a 50 percent increase in the fee.
As for nationals of countries participating in the SAARC, they will now have to pay a $35 fee for a standard tourist visa.
On the other hand, nationals of Singapore, Maldives, Czechia, and Seychelles are exempted from paying the fee when applying for this particular visa.
According to the information provided by the official Sri Lanka eVisa website, the fee for the other types of tourist visas has also increased.
Foreigners who apply for a two-year multiple-entry tourist visa now face a fee of $300.
Moreover, those who apply for a five-year multiple-entry visa and for a ten-year multiple-entry visa will be required to pay a fee of $500 and $1,000, respectively.
Certain Groups of Foreigners Exempted From Visa Fee
In contrast, diplomats are not subject to any of the fees. A document shared by the official Sri Lanka eVisa website reads that Indians, Russians, Malaysians, Chinese, Japanese, Thais, and Indonesians are also exempted from tourist visa charges.
The prices for business visas have also increased. A standard tourist visa for business purposes now costs $35 for nationals of SAARC countries and $73 for nationals of other nations.
Sri Lanka Saw Over 218,000 Tourists in February 2024 Alone
Sri Lanka continues to remain a popular destination for travellers from all over the world, with the country registering a total of 218,350 visitors in February of this year alone.
Such a high number of tourists who reached Sri Lanka in February represents a 102.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
While tourists from different parts of the world traveled to Sri Lanka in February, data show that Russians topped the list. A total of 32,030 Russians entered Sri Lanka in February.
Russia was followed by India, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China.