Sri Lanka Allows Indian Tourists, Issues New Guidelines For Travelers: Details Here

As per the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health – Sri Lanka, the country has resumed acceptance of passengers traveling on Tourist Visa from India.

However, there has been a change in the approval process and quarantine measures for passengers traveling on a tourist visa.

Passengers who can travel under Tourism protocol.

Only fully vaccinated passengers can travel under this category.

Travelers arriving in Sri Lanka on Tourist Visa must obtain Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) through www.eta.gov.lk following the protocols stated in helloagain (srilanka.travel)

Passengers who can travel under Tourism protocol are as stated below.

• Indian Tourists
• Foreign National including residence VISA holders
• Dual Citizens
• Sri Lankan Citizens

These categories of passengers will not require prior approvals from the foreign ministry but must follow operational guidelines of Sri Lanka tourism.

For passengers traveling on Tourism Protocol, there will be no mandatory minimum stay. If the day 01 PCR test result is negative the travelers are required to continue the rest of their stay at 3 stars or above category hotels.

Passengers who are not travelling under Tourism Protocol;

Passengers who can travel under this category are as stated below.

• Sri Lankan Citizens, Dual Citizens travelling on Sri Lankan passport – Can travel without prior approval and they can request for a quarantined hotel / Government quarantine after arriving in Sri Lanka.
  
• Dual citizens if arriving on a foreign passport and foreign nationals including valid resident VISA holders should get prior approvals from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) through [email protected] and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) through [email protected]
  
• Foreign nationals arriving for important meetings. projects, discussions invited by Sri Lankan Government or private organizations should get prior approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) with the letter of invitation from their Sri Lankan counterpart.

PCR Test Requirement

A Negative RT PCR test done within 72hours of travel is mandatory for travelers above 02Years of age.

All travelers above two years of age must undergo a PCR test on day 1 of arrival. However, if the day 1 PCR test of the accompanying adult is positive, exempted children will also be subjected to PCR testing.

Quarantine measures for fully vaccinated travelers

All categories of travelers who have taken the recommended doses of COVID 19 vaccination and arrive in Sri Lanka after 14 days after vaccination, will be considered fully vaccinated. All passengers arriving from non-restricted countries do not require quarantine if their day 1 PCR test is negative.

Non-Vaccinated children below 18 years, can be discharged with fully vaccinated passengers if their on-arrival PCR lest (from 2 years – 18 years) is negative. Children below 2 years will only be subjected to RT-PCR test if their accompanying adult is tested positive on day one of the RT PCR tests.

Travelers who have received their recommended doses of vaccines must carry their original vaccination certificate/ card in the English language. A certified copy of English language translation is required if the document is not in the English language.

Note: Passengers who have recovered from COVID and have taken one shot of the vaccine will be considered fully vaccinated.

Quarantine measures for Non-Vaccinated Travelers

Sri Lankan Nationals, Dual Citizens, Foreign Nationals including residence visa holders should quarantine for 14days at a Quarantine Hotel Centre.

Quarantine measure for travelers who have departed from abroad within less than 2 weeks of completion of recommended doses of vaccination and complete their 02 weeks period during their stay at a quarantined hotel/center/approved quarantine residence after arriving in Sri Lanka – These passengers can be discharged with a negative RT PCR test (done after completing the two weeks from last vaccination date) result and no further quarantine is required.

Non-vaccinated children below 18 years, can be discharged with fully vaccinated passengers if their on-arrival PCR test (from 2 years – 18 years) is negative. Children below 2 years will only be subjected to RT-PCR test if their accompanying adult is tested positive on day one of the RT-PCR tests.

Guidelines to be followed by travel agents for all passengers mentioned above

Travel/ticketing agents must ensure all ticketed passengers have the mandatory requirements fulfilled and relevant documents are ready before their departure to avoid passengers being mishandled/denied boarding at the airport.

• ETA (VISA) Number for Tourists. (Please visit www.visitsrilanka.gov.lk to pay for your COVID19 Insurance & PCR tests. Also. to obtain your unique tourism reference number required to apply for a visa)
• Pay for the Mandatory COVID-19 local travel insurance cover at USD 12 for a policy of USD 50.000 up to a period of one month (including children below 2 years).
• Pay for the on-arrival PCR test (USD 40 per PCR test).
• Pre-paid booking at an L1 Safe and Secure Hotel for the first two days & a pre-paid bookings at 3 stars or above category hotel/s for the rest of the stay.
• A confirmed return ticket for ETA VISA holders.
• A valid ‘PCR NEGATIVE’ report
• Mandatory updating of ‘Visa type’ and ‘Visa number; in the SSR field
• Kindly update in the SSR field if the passenger is a Sri Lankan National – ‘Sri Lankan National’ or If a Dual Citizen is travelling with a Sri Lankan passport – ‘Sri Lankan PPT holder’s

Also Read: Saudi Arabia To Allow Entry of Fully Vaccinated Expats From Red List Countries, Including India