Travel Advice in Sri Lanka during Corona COVID-19 Virus Outbreak

THIS BLOG IS OUTDATED. For more information on travelling to Sri Lanka post-covid (2022), please refer to this article.

Travelling in Sri Lanka during COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

The high-level summary is as follows:

1. 1. • The Tourism Development Authority reports that Sri Lanka Tourism has arranged for the departure of 18,093 stranded foreign tourists.

      • Access the COVID-19 Tourism Map for Sri Lanka: Here

      • Find “Isolation” Curfew / lockdown information in Sri Lanka: Here

      • All international commercial passenger arrivals to Sri Lanka will stop. This takes effect from 04:00 on March 19, 2020, until 23:59 on March 25.

      • Airlines have dramatically slashed departures. These schedules can change daily. If you want to leave the country, we suggest you do so immediately. This is especially important if you have any at-risk medical conditions.

      • The Sri Lankan government requests that you visit the nearest police station for verification. This applies if you arrived between March 1st and 15th from Europe, South Korea, or Iran. They released updated information, including an email address, here. We provide a standard registration form and instructions below.

      • The government is providing automatic visa extensions. This is for all foreigners currently in Sri Lanka due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. You do not have to visit the Department of Immigration for this extension. See more details below.

      • Reports indicate that some hotels across the island are not accepting foreigners. This is mostly due to a lack of business but also fear of the virus. Please check the Tourism Map for hotels that are still open.

       

      ALL Arrivals to Sri Lanka Stopped

       

      [17/03/2020] – Inward international commercial passenger flights will stop in Sri Lanka. This is effective from 04:00 on March 19, 2020. Departures may also stop soon due to the global situation. Airlines and governments cannot fund empty flights. For this reason, we suggest you return to your home country as soon as possible if you have any at-risk medical conditions.

       

      ALL Foreigners in Sri Lanka Must Register with Police

       

      The government has extended its previous advice. It now applies to ALL foreigners currently in Sri Lanka, not just those from Europe, South Korea, or Iran. We recommend you take the following steps:

      1. Download the standard document here: Police Station Report for COVID-19

      2. Print and fill it in, or complete it digitally.

      3. Take a photo, scan, or create a PDF of the document.

      4. Send the document to [email protected].

       

      Standard Police Registration Document

       

      Police stations are giving mixed information. Because of this, we created a standard form for tourists. You can use this form to register at your local police station. If you fit the categories above, please download this form. Then, fill it out and hand it over to the closest police station. Please take a photograph for your own records.

      Police Station Report for COVID-19

       

      Visa Questions and Status

       

      [18/03/2020] – The government decided to extend the validity period for all visa types. This extension applies to all foreigners currently in Sri Lanka due to the Covid-19 virus. The government will extend all visas for 30 days. This is effective from March 14, 2020, to April 12, 2020.

      Therefore, foreign nationals must visit the Visa Division of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. You should go on April 8th or 9th, 2020. There, you will pay the relevant fee and get the visa endorsed in your passport.

      If you plan to leave the island during this period, you can pay the visa fee at the airport. You will not face any penalty. This will facilitate your journey.

       

      Updated Policy and Summary

       

      [27/03/2020 – UPDATED POLICY]

      The Department of Immigration now sends this auto-response email:

      “You can extend any visa type expiring after 14th March 2020. The extension is for a period of 30 days. The Department of Immigration has provided the 8th and 9th of April 2020 as the dates for obtaining these extensions by paying the standard fee. No penalty will be charged for this. However, these dates may vary depending on the ongoing situation and on government instructions.”

      SUMMARY:

      • Your visa will automatically be extended for 30 days if you are currently in Sri Lanka.

      • You do not have to go to the Department of Immigration to get this extension.

      • However, if you stay past April 8th / 9th, you must go to the Department and pay the fee. (Let’s wait and see about this, as it may be chaotic).

      • If you leave before April 8th, you must pay the relevant visa fee at the airport. This is the normal extension fee, not an overstay fee.

       

      Entering the Country

       

      • [18/03/2020] – ALL ARRIVALS TO THE COUNTRY HAVE STOPPED AS OF 04:00 ON MARCH 19TH.

      • [17/03/2020] – AUTHORITIES HAVE BLOCKED ALL NEW VISAS, INCLUDING E-VISAS.

      • [15/03/2020] – All visa-on-arrival services are blocked. All NEW visas from “at-risk” countries are also blocked. It is highly likely they will soon block all new visas into the country. HOWEVER, you can enter if you already have an approved e-visa. I know people who entered without issues as recently as March 16, 2020. If you want to apply for an e-visa and are not from a high-risk country, you should use this link.

       

      Already in Sri Lanka

       

      • [18/03/2020] – Refer to the summary above. The government has granted automatic 30-day visa extensions.

      • [17/03/2020] – We believe you can still extend visas in Sri Lanka as usual. However, the Department of Immigration will only re-open on Friday, March 20th. It was closed from Monday to Thursday for public holidays.

      • [15/03/2020] – If you are already here, you may wonder, “what should I do if my visa is going to expire?”. You have two main options. First, you can leave the country before it expires. Second, you can extend your tourist visa up to 6 months. If you have a 1-month visa, you can first extend it for 2 more months. After that, you can extend it again for 3 more months. This gives you a total of 6 months. You can find the steps to extend your visa under “Visa extension procedure” below.

       

      What Happens If I Overstay My Visa?

       

      [15/03/2020] – I spoke with the immigration and tourism departments. They said they would make exceptions due to the unprecedented global situation. I must stress this is not an official policy. However, it is an understandable position. You could be stuck in Sri Lanka because of travel restrictions. Please reach out to us if you face this situation so we can try to help.

       

      Visa Extension Procedure

       

      If you need to extend your visa, you can use the Immigration Services Centre. They operate from many parts of the island.

      1. Contact them through [email protected] or call them at +94-727-591-591 / +94-112-375-972.

      2. They will email you a cost breakdown for the extension. They will also send the official form. You need to print the form, fill it out, and add a passport-size photo.

      3. Arrange for a courier to pick up your passport and the completed application form.

      4. We will transfer the costs from our Sri Lankan bank account to them. Then we will send you an invoice you can pay by PayPal or Credit Card.

      5. Once they obtain the visa, they will courier your passport back to you.

      Please CC [email protected] in all your emails with them so we are aware. For full details on getting the visa yourself, please visit: https://tuktukrental.com/everything-visa-visa-extension-sri-lanka/

       

      Travel Restrictions to Sri Lanka

       

      [17/03/2020] All arrivals to Sri Lanka stopped at 4 am on 19/03/2020. Departures are still operating for now.

      Authorities will not allow passengers to enter Sri Lanka if they are from, have transited through, or have been in these countries:

      • Iran

      • Italy

      • Korea (Rep.)

      Authorities will not allow passengers to enter Sri Lanka until March 29th if they are from, have transited through, or have been in these countries in the past 14 days:

      • Austria

      • Bahrain

      • Belgium

      • Canada

      • Denmark

      • France

      • Germany

      • Netherlands

      • Norway

      • Qatar

      • Spain

      • Sweden

      • Switzerland

      • United Kingdom

       

      Hotel Closures

       

      We have received reports that some hotels are closing across the island. Their closure is due to a lack of tourists and the COVID-19 outbreak. If you are booking hotels, we suggest you call them directly. Do not just rely on online booking sites. Call them to confirm they will be open. We started compiling a list of hotels that are confirmed to stay open here: List of Hotels Staying Open

      If you know of a hotel that is staying open, please let us know in the comments section.

       

      Closure of National Parks & Museums

       

      The Wildlife Department will close its zoological gardens, botanical gardens, and national parks. The closure will last for two weeks. The Department of Government Information announced this measure takes effect on March 15, 2020. We have reports that Sigiriya / Lion’s Rock was open on March 15th, as it is not under the Wildlife Department’s jurisdiction. There is no official word yet on the closure of other historical sites, but this could change.

      The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Cultural and Religious Affairs has closed all museums. This closure is due to the coronavirus situation. Eleven national museums will be closed until further notice, effective March 16, 2020.

       

      Tourist Area Closures by Local Groups

       

      There has been one report of a local tourist group closing areas to tourists. They put up a sign as a preventative measure against COVID-19. The first reported case is a sign in the Ella region (see below). This is not a central government initiative. There has been no official mention of closing other historic sites.

      Kithalella region local tourist group closure sign, photo provided by tuktukrental.com customer.

       

      Quarantine for Arrivals from Italy (March 1st – 9th)

       

      The government made a new announcement. Both locals and foreigners who arrived from Italy between March 1st and 9th must self-quarantine. This applies if you have not already been quarantined. The self-quarantine period is 14 days. Authorities will take steps to identify these people. They will ensure they are not showing symptoms or spreading the virus.

       

      <UNVERIFIED> Quarantine for All Foreign Tourists

       

      A rumor is circulating about a 2-week self-quarantine. The rumor suggests this applies to all foreigners in their hotels. This is supposedly due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have not received any official information to confirm this rumor. This is fake news. The Ministry of Tourism confirms this is not official, nor are they currently considering this action (as of 16/03/2020).

      However, the information is still circulating. As a result, some locals are fearful of foreigners. This is especially true in small villages and non-touristic areas. We have also been informed that some local hotels stopped accepting foreign guests. In light of this, we suggest you find accommodation today that you are happy to stay at for the next two weeks.