UNLOCKING THE WORLD
Fully vaccinated travellers from India (including transit) are now welcome to Sri Lanka. Anyone travelling from India, who has completed both the doses of either Covaxin or Covishield vaccine, will be allowed entry into the island nation.
Reportedly, those who are partially vaccinated or are non-vaccinated will not be permitted as per the latest travel rule.
Travellers should have a valid tourist visa before boarding the flight. One can get a visa by applying on eta.gov.lk.However, before applying for the visa, do make sure that you have a pre-paid booking at an ‘L1 Safe and Secure’ three-star or above category hotel for the first two days until the on-arrival PCR test is performed. And once they receive a negative report, travellers will be allowed to leave the bio-bubble.
Passengers will also be required to pay for the COVID-19 local travel insurance, as well as their RT-PCR test that will be conducted on arrival. Children below 2 years will remain exempt from the test unless their parents develop COVID symptoms or test positive for COVID.
Entry rules for Indian travellers to Sri Lanka
- Travellers from India who have completed the recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccination and arriving from India (including transit) after two weeks of the vaccination will be allowed into the country
- Non-vaccinated or partially-vaccinated travellers will not be allowed.
- Any vaccination type accepted by the country of origin is acceptable, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a Covaxin or Covishield jab.
- COVID-19 recovered passengers arriving from India (including transit) with one dose of vaccine will be considered as ‘fully vaccinated’.
- Unvaccinated Children between 2-18 years are allowed to leave the bio-bubble with fully vaccinated parents upon a negative on arrival (Day 1) PCR test.
- Children below two years are exempt from PCR tests. However, if the parents/guardians develop symptoms or result in positive PCR test reports, children will have to undergo PCR tests.
Documents required by COVID-19 recovered passengers:
A valid document certifying COVID-19 illness (in English) and departed between 28 – 90 days from the date of positive COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT). Such travellers should arrive after getting at least a single dose of AstraZeneca/ Pfizer BioNTech/ Moderna/ Johnson & Johnson vaccine or any other recommended single dose COVID-19 vaccine.
The vaccination certificate should indicate that the vaccination course has been completed following the administration of one dose.
This vaccine should be given 14 days after the positive NAAT and 14 days before departure. This certificate should contain the name of the person, dates, and names of the positive NAAT.
Before you go:
There’s no minimum duration of stay in Sri Lanka or mandatory quarantine when you arrive.
You will need to have a valid tourist visa before boarding the flight.
Travellers must ensure that they have a pre-paid booking at an “L1 Safe and Secure” three-star or above category hotel for the first two days until the on-arrival PCR test is performed.
The on-arrival PCR test will be performed at the “L1 Safe and Secure” three-star or above category hotel. Upon a negative on-arrival PCR test report, travellers can leave the bio-bubble. The respective hotel doctor or hotel management will issue a “Discharge Document” upon verifying the status of vaccination and PCR test results.
Those making the journey will also need to pay for the mandatory COVID-19 local travel insurance cover at US$12 (Rs890) for a policy of US$50,000 (Rs37 lakh) up to a period of one month (including children below 2 years) and the on-arrival PCR test (US$ 40 or Rs2,970 per PCR test). Children below 2 years are exempt from PCR tests.
While all hotel facilities will be made available to the guests, tourists can only visit approved tourist sites under the safety of a bio-bubble. Check the Sri Lanka Tourism website for more information
