(SRI LANKA) – Sri Lanka started offering free tourist ETAs to citizens of 40 countries, including India, with the scheme taking effect on 25 May 2026.

The free Electronic Travel Authorisation applies to nationals of the listed countries who hold diplomatic, official, service, or ordinary passports. The ETA is valid for 30 days and allows double entry.

India is among the countries covered by the measure. The official ETA portal also states that nationals of Maldives, Seychelles, and Singapore receive the ETA free of charge under the arrangement.

The change marks a shift in the entry process for short-term visitors from the listed countries, removing the ETA fee from 25 May 2026 onward. Sri Lanka’s official portal says fees paid before that date are non-refundable.

Maldivian nationals fall under a separate validity period within the same arrangement. They receive a 90-day tourist visa.

The official list of eligible countries named on the ETA site includes Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States of America.

The portal describes the document as a free tourist ETA for those nationalities under the current scheme. It applies across multiple passport categories, not only ordinary passports, extending the arrangement to diplomatic, official, and service travel documents from the countries included.

That detail broadens the scope of the measure beyond leisure travel by regular passport holders. It also gives the plan a wider reach across government, official, and private travel from the countries covered.

The ETA validity period for most eligible travelers is set at 30 days. The authorization permits double entry, allowing a traveler to enter Sri Lanka twice during the period allowed under the approval.

Sri Lanka’s announcement centers on the fee waiver rather than a new visa category. Travelers from the listed countries still need the ETA, but the tourist authorization is issued free of charge under the arrangement now in effect.

The mention of Maldives, Seychelles, and Singapore on the official portal places those countries alongside the broader group of 40 countries receiving free tourist ETAs. Maldives stands apart in one respect, with the portal specifying a 90-day tourist visa for its nationals.

The non-refundable fee notice creates a firm cutoff at 25 May 2026. Anyone who paid ETA fees before that date does not receive a refund under the policy described on the official site.

That date now serves as the dividing line between the previous paid arrangement and the current free one. The portal ties the start of the waiver directly to 25 May 2026.

The list published on the official site stretches across Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and the Middle East. It includes countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States of America.

India’s inclusion places one of Sri Lanka’s closest regional travel markets inside the free-entry authorization scheme. India is explicitly among the eligible countries.

The measure covers passport holders from each eligible state rather than limiting the scheme to residents or a narrower class of applicants. Diplomatic, official, service, and ordinary passport holders from the listed countries all fall within the arrangement described by the portal.

Sri Lanka’s use of the ETA system means the authorization remains electronic, even as the fee is removed for those nationalities. The policy therefore changes the cost of access, while preserving the approval mechanism already used for tourist travel.

The list published by the official site does not stop with the countries named earlier. It also refers to others shown in the full list, alongside the states specifically identified.

Among the countries explicitly mentioned are Australia and New Zealand in Oceania; Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Belarus in Europe; and Bahrain, Iran, and Israel in the Middle East. Southeast and South Asian countries named include Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, India, and Maldives.

The free tourist ETAs scheme now gives eligible visitors a defined set of terms: no ETA fee from 25 May 2026, a 30-day validity period for most travelers, and double entry. Maldivian nationals receive a 90-day tourist visa, while anyone who paid before the start date remains outside the refund window set by the official portal.