Sri Lanka: New Five-Year Multiple Entry Tourist Visa Forthcoming

The Cabinet of Ministers of Sri Lanka has approved a proposal to introduce a five-year multiple entry tourist visa. The new five-year visa will come into effect upon the announcement of the Department of Immigration & Emigration of Sri Lanka. Foreign nationals of 35 countries will be able to stay in Sri Lanka for six months at a time within the five-year visa validity period. The government has not yet published the list of eligible nationals. Holders of the tourist visa will need to limit their activities to tourism and will not be able to conduct work or for-profit activities. Eligible foreign nationals will benefit from being able to stay in Sri Lanka for the longer duration of up to six months without the need to file an extension, up from the current 30 days that is granted to tourists upon entry, and will benefit from the longer validity of five years, up from the previously-announced one-year multiple entry tourist visa (which is still pending implementation).