Sri Lanka business visa

The Department of Immigration and Emigration lists business meetings and negotiations, seminars, conferences, workshops and symposiums, short-term training programmes, art, music and dance events, and religious events as business-visa purposes. The visa is meant for short visits only.

The page is explicit that the visa does not authorise trading, paid or unpaid employment, self-employment, or living in Sri Lanka for long periods through frequent or successive visits. Taking up a job requires an employment residence visa.

The only document the Department lists specifically for the business visa is an invitation or request letter from the institution in Sri Lanka that you are visiting. It should name you, state the purpose and dates of the visit and come from the organiser of the meeting, conference or training. The general ETA conditions also apply: six months of passport validity, a return ticket and funds.

A business ETA costs US$55 for nationals of non-South Asian countries and US$30 for South Asian nationals; there is no free business ETA, even for nationalities on the free tourist list. The ETA is valid for a 30-day stay. Sri Lankan missions can also issue business visas for up to 90 days with single, double or multiple entries; in that case the US$55 processing fee is combined with the country-specific business visa fee, charged once, twice or three times depending on the number of entries.

Business visas cannot be extended online; the request is made in person at the DIE head office in Battaramulla. For a business ETA the fee for nationals other than US citizens is US$100 for the period from the 30th to the 90th day and US$200 from the 90th to the 180th day, counted from the arrival date. Your passport must remain valid for at least two months beyond the extended stay.

Departing within seven days after the visa expires carries no penalty, although the visa fee for the extra days is collected at the departure port. Under Gazette 2337/10 (in force since 21 June 2023) an overstay of more than 7 and up to 14 days costs a US$250 penalty plus the applicable visa fee, and more than 14 days costs US$500 plus the fee. Fees are calculated from your arrival date, and filing an extension online does not protect you from a fine if your visa has already run out.