Travel Tips
Visas for Sri Lankans

Visa, Health and Immigration

With few exceptions of most countries in the world require Sri Lankan passport holders to have a visa stamped on their travel document prior to arrival. In Continental Europe, unlike the UK, even airside transit US/Canada bound passengers moving from one gate to another require a visa. We advise you to check with us on visa requirements prior to ticketing, as sometimes a long lead time is required to process the visa, for others, you can collect your stamped passport the same evening.
 
Note: A few countries require visas stamped prior to arrival even for short-visit tourists with Australian, European Union countries, United Kingdom, Canadian and United States passports. Please check with us.

Certain consulates require ticketing prior to issuing the visa, others vice versa.
It may be necessary to obtain your visa at Consulates in India, Thailand or Singapore, if the respective country is not diplomatically represented in Sri Lanka.

Here is a List of Embassies and High Commissions, from which you could obtain your visas.

Before you get your visa, you should have a valid Passport. For more information on this: please see Sri Lanka Immigration.
 
Here are the requirements, which are commonly asked by visa officers. This list is not exhaustive, and may change according to the status of the applicant. Most embassies would have such a list of their specialised requests, and should be collected along with your application form. Many consulates accept application forms downloaded (and printed) from the web. It should be noted that,  a few Embassies have begun to limit the number of applications accepted each day, and on reaching this limit, they close the counter.
 
Note: SriLankan Passport holders have sometimes received bad treatment during the past few years, whether at Consulates or Points of Immigration. We strongly recommend that applicants should remain calm during an interview, and answer all questions as truthfully and comprehensively as possible. Visa officers are trained in cross-examination, and attempting to deceive or losing one's temper will be counter-productive, and will result in you being denied your visa. We re-iterate that we cannot and do not influence or guarantee visas, nor are we a visa obtaining institution. We offer a drop and pick up service for our legitimate customers.
 

1. Your current and previous passport, preferably showing a history of prior travel, and valid for up to 6 months after proposed arrival into the destination country. It is worth taking photocopies of your previous visas to the intended destination, along with two copies of your passport photo page and validity extension page.

2. Bank statements, credit cards and other relevant documents, showing financial means to support yourself during your travel, with photocopies of the same. In the case of business visas, the statements and business registration certificate (B.R.S.) of your employer will be required.

3. A letter from your employer certifying your position. This letter should also either grant leave from work, or detail your business trip and its purpose.

4. A letter of invitation from your host (relative, friend, university or business contact) or original hotel reservation with a copy, at the destination(s). Email printouts are usually not accepted.

5. A letter from you stating in brief the main purpose of your visit.

6. Between 1 and 4 recent (within 6 months) photographs of yourself. There are specific photo requirements (head and shoulders only, matte finish, white background, no sunglasses) for some visas, especially the USA. A professional photo shop will be aware of these requirements.

Other than these basic requirements, some consulates have been known to ask for:
* An original fax or letter from your hotel, giving dates of check-in and check-out.
* Travel and Health Insurance
* Your parents' passport copies
* Your wedding certificate in translation

* Your birth certificate and that of your children, in certified English translation.
* A Medical Report from a designated practitioner, for passengers over 70 years of age (e.g. Australia)
* In the case of business visas sponsored by lesser-known companies, the business registration forms and bank statements of both your company and your business partner company.

As a rule you should obtain the visa for your main stop prior to obtaining transit visas (if they are required). For multi-destination tours, if your main stop can be identified, you should always obtain that one, first. If both these checks have a negative result, you should obtain your visas in the order that you will be visiting the countries.

The above applies for Schengen visas in particular. You should obtain your visa from the Embassy or Consulate representing your main destination. If this cannot be identified, you should go to the Embassy representing your first point of entry into the Schengen area.


Some embassies grant entry for only the period applied for, while others may grant up to a 6 month multiple-entry visa as the norm. In April 2005, the US Embassy recommenced granting 5-year multiple-entry tourist visas for successful applicants.

Page last updated: August 11, 2010 18:26:55 +0530

Back to Travel Tips

 

   
 
 

About us | Air Ticketing | Contact | Dream Trips | Site Map | Travel Tips | Links | News

© 2004~10 Tourama (Pvt) Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer

Home | Contact us | Profile | Travel Tips | Air Ticketing | Europe | News | Links | Site Map