Sri Lanka medical treatment visa

The tourist visa explicitly lists medical treatment, including Ayurvedic treatment and yoga, as a permitted purpose. Patients therefore usually start with the 30-day tourist ETA and extend it inside Sri Lanka if the programme runs longer (US$60 for days 31 to 90 for most nationalities).

For treatment over a longer period, the residence visa has a medical category for the patient and one medical assistant. It is issued for one year or for the period recommended by the treating doctor and can be renewed.

The application needs a recommendation letter from the doctor or medical officer, who may be an Ayurvedic or homeopathic practitioner, a medical report, bank encashment receipts showing US$1,500 per year for each person, the passport and a copy of its data page, and the Ministry of Health's Health Protection Plan (HPP). Applications are handled in Battaramulla.

The medical residence visa is part of Residence Visa-1, charged at US$200 for each year or part of a year, per person. The US$1,500 encashment is not a fee but money exchanged through a bank in Sri Lanka to show that the stay is funded. Tourist-visa extensions follow the separate extension fee table.

Patients can enter on the tourist ETA and apply for the medical category in Sri Lanka, or follow the residence route described by Sri Lankan missions, where the sponsor applies to the Controller General at least 45 days before arrival and the mission issues an entry visa after approval. Apply before your current visa expires, and keep your stay within the period recommended by the doctor.