Indian Passport Just Got Stronger, Sri Lanka Announces Free Visa on Arrival for Indians

The Indian passport which held 64th rank on the passport index in 2019 just got stronger with Sri Lanka being the 59th country to allow without visa/ visa on arrival travel to Indian citizens.

Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority in the urge to revitalize travel after the recent Easter bombings have announced a free visa on arrival to 10 additional countries including India, China, and Russia.

The concession scheme which was earlier meant to be implemented for 39 countries in May 2019 to boost off-season tourism in the months of May – October was delayed due to security concerns after 3 luxury hotels and 3 churches were bombed in Colombo killing over 250 people.

The scheme already allows tourists from several countries including -  Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand and Switzerland.

Sri Lanka, which was named one of the most travelled places in the world in 2018 by the Lonely Planet travel guide saw a decline of 7.5 % in April 2019 as compared to the same period last year According to the first-month report of the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority

India is one of the largest consumers of Sri Lankan Tourism. Around 450,000 Indians visited the island nation in the year 2018, which is around 18 % of all tourists’ arrival to the country. The Sri Lankan government plans to promote tourism vigorously for the next few months and has predicted the arrival of around one million Indian tourists in the year 2019.

A general Sri Lankan tourist e-visa application requires an Indian citizen to submit a digital photo, a passport with at least 6 months' validity, proof of valid round-trip ticket showing the port of entry into Sri Lanka, proof of funds to cover their expenses during their stay in Sri Lanka.

 So if you are an Indian passport holder, from August 1, no more standing in long queues or adding hefty visa fees expenses to the travel expenditure when traveling to the island country you can easily get a Sri Lankan visa on arrival minus the $35 fee i.e. about INR 2400. The maximum duration of the Sri Lankan visa is 30 days. If you wish to extend your stay, you can easily do that by paying a nominal renewal fee.