What you need to enter Sri Lanka with an Egyptian passport

Authorization system

ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization)

Every foreign national needs an ETA before arriving in Sri Lanka, including nationals of the 40 countries with a free ETA and those of countries with reciprocal agreements (Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore). For a Spanish passport the tourist ETA has been free since 25 May 2026: 30 days of stay with double entry within that validity period, counted from first arrival in the country. Anyone wanting to stay longer than 30 days can apply for an extension by paying the fee applicable to their nationality, once already in Sri Lanka.

Visa, e-Visa, or electronic authorization? What's the difference →

Fee

Free

Free for a Spanish passport since 25 May 2026. For comparison, the general rate still applied to other nationalities is US$50 for a tourist ETA applied for by the traveller themselves, at a Sri Lankan overseas mission or at the head office (US$20 for South Asian, SAARC, countries), and US$60 if processed on arrival. The two-day transit visa is free for everyone, and children under 12 get a free tourist ETA of up to 30 days regardless of nationality.

Required documents

• A passport valid for at least six months with at least two blank pages. A passport reported lost or stolen leads to refusal of entry.
• An approved ETA before travelling: it is compulsory even for the nationalities that get it free of charge.

Vaccinations

• Yellow fever: the vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from affected areas. Arriving directly from Spain it is not required.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

The tourist ETA gives 30 days of stay with double entry within its validity: you can leave the country and come back once without applying for a new authorization, always within those 30 days counted from first arrival. To stay longer you must apply for the extension online, through the Department of Immigration and Emigration's e-service, once already in the country, and pay the visa fee corresponding to your nationality. Transit of up to two days has its own visa, free for any nationality.

Customs limits

Cash

Sri Lanka Customs requires foreign currency to be declared to the Arrival No. 1 Officer, along with gold jewellery, gems and goods covered by FRIC or a CARNET. No page on the official portal setting the exact threshold above which declaring becomes compulsory was found, so we give no figure: the duty to declare is confirmed, the amount is not.

Alcohol

Sri Lanka Customs allowance for tourists: two regular-size bottles of wine and one and a half litres of spirits. Separately, up to a quarter of a litre of toilet water and a small quantity of perfume and souvenirs worth no more than 250 dollars, provided they are not for commercial use.

Tobacco

The official list of baggage exemptions for tourists published by Sri Lanka Customs does NOT include any tobacco allowance: only personal effects, the wine and spirits, toilet water and souvenirs. Assume cigarettes are not covered by the allowance.

Overstay penalties

There is a seven-day grace period: anyone leaving Sri Lanka within seven days of their visa expiring pays only the applicable visa fee at the port of departure, with no penalty. Beyond that, the fine is 250 US dollars for an overstay of between 7 and 14 days, and 500 dollars for more than 14 days, always on top of the visa fees. The Immigrants and Emigrants Act also allows anyone staying beyond the period specified in their visa to be detained and removed, and Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns that staying on with an expired visa can lead to prison sentences.

Common reasons for denial

• Turning up without an approved ETA: it is compulsory before arrival even for the nationalities that get it free.
• A passport with less than six months' validity or without two blank pages.
• Travelling on a passport reported lost or stolen.
• Carrying items banned on import, such as narcotics, psychotropic substances, certain medicines, pornography or religious literature intended for proselytizing.