Sri Lanka has recently announced plans to scrap visa fees for nationals from 40 countries, including the seven that already enjoy visa fee waivers and 33 newly-added markets.
Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath recently revealed that tourists from countries including the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Australia will soon be able to enter the island without paying visa fees. The move aims to attract more tourists, cut red tape and send a message that Sri Lanka is open for business, he said.
Herath, however, acknowledged that the waiver could cost the government about $66 million in visa fees but said the broader economic gains from higher tourist arrivals would more than make up for it.
Sri Lanka expands free 30-day visa initiative
The latest announcement was made by Herath at the opening of the Hotel Show in Colombo. While full details of the visa fee waiver were not disclosed, a list of eligible countries has since been released by Sri Lanka’s tourism ministry.
The 40 countries include the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nepal, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, France, the U.S., Canada, Czech Republic, and Italy.
It also includes Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Belarus, Iran, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, South Korea, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, New Zealand, Kuwait, Norway, Türkiye and Pakistan.
This visa fee waiver expands on a smaller program Sri Lanka rolled out in March 2023 that offered free 30-day visas on arrival for seven countries, including India, China, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, provided travelers applied for electronic travel authorization in advance. Until now, most tourists outside South Asia have paid $50-$60 for a short-stay visa.
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Sri Lanka targets attracting 3 million visitors in 2025
Sri Lanka has set an ambitious target of drawing 3 million tourists and generating $5 billion in tourism revenue in 2025 — a significant increase from the 2.05 million visitors and approximately $3 billion recorded in 2024.
Experts say the visa fee waiver initiative marks a strong step toward making Sri Lanka more accessible and competitive as a destination. While it may not entirely bridge the gap to the 3 million visitor target for 2025, it is expected to provide a meaningful boost to tourist arrivals. Globally, tourism-driven countries are increasingly adopting visa-free policies to attract more international travelers.
Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka have been uneven so far this year. As of July 23, the country recorded 1.3 million arrivals—a 4 percent increase from the same period in 2024. However, July’s figures have disappointed. Despite expectations of a boost from the Kandy Esala Perahera festival, only 145,188 arrivals were logged in the first 23 days of the month—far below the projected 277,195.
To meet its 2025 target of 3 million tourists, the country now needs nearly 1.7 million additional visitors—translating to more than 281,000 monthly arrivals for the remainder of the year. That figure significantly exceeds the current monthly average. Since peaking at 252,761 in January, monthly arrivals have steadily declined, with June recording just 138,241 visitors.
India remains Sri Lanka’s top source market with 269,780 arrivals so far in 2025, followed by the U.K. and Russia.
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