What a shocker, I just got an e-visa and it says “you will not be permitted to enter Sri Lanka”. Ok let’s rewind a bit. Last week I spent 1 day/night in Sri Lanka. Looking at the Electronic Travel Authorization http://www.eta.gov.lk site I can get the free transit visa (2 days stay only) instead of the $35 tourist visa (30 days). That’s a very nice gesture, thanks Sri Lanaka! Please check the site as rules can change any time!
All good, a free visa, just filling an online form and within a day or so I got my e-visa saying this:
This ETA allows ONLY you to transiting through Sri Lanka and you will not be permitted to enter Sri Lanka. Please produce your passport together with return air ticket and proof of sufficient funds to the Immigration officer at the port of entry to Sri Lanka.
Wait a minute, “you will not be permitted to enter Sri Lanka”? Wow am I supposed to sleep on the conveyor belt for 2 days? Well it turns out that this is a poorly translated instruction. They actually want to say that you can not use this to enter as a tourist and stay 30 days, it’s only meant for 2 days. Basically they don’t want people to abuse this free 2 day visa to enter the country and escape the $35 tourist visa which makes perfect sense. So don’t stress out, you will be allowed to enter Sri Lanka with this 2 day transit e-Visa!
It would be cool though if the Sri Lanka visa site would change the wording to “you will not be permitted to stay in Sri Lanka for more than 2 days”.
Hope this helps if you get a confusing e-visa response 🙂 Have fun in Sri lanka!
Thank you! Write on time, I was beginning to panic already, got the same message today!
@Elena great, that’s why I shared this to reduce panic attacks 🙂 Have fun in Sri Lanka!
Thank you so much, this is very helpful, since I just got the same message. Too bad I already panicked and sent an email to the Sri Lankan immigration office, asking for clarification on this matter. Well, it’s their own fault, I guess 🙂 Maybe that will get them to change the wording to avoid being flooded with inquiries. Although, judging by other forums, this problem has been around since at least 2014.
@Dimitry Yeah I had an interesting discussion about this topic with a friend. it’s al about how you understand transit and enter. Maybe they see enter as entering as a tourist and transit simply as passing through and in that case one could argue you cannot be a tourist during your transit 🙂 But even in that case you are allowed to leave the airport and and go around. I guess it’s all about your main purpose, being a tourist or transit (and i guess they won’t mind if you do some tourist activities on the side). IN the end this just confuses people a lot and causes unnecessary drama, so rewording it would be cool indeed 🙂
Thanks you…. Even, I was beginning to panic as I got the same message today… Thanks for the article!!
Thank you so much! Finally a clear answer! Now I can stop panicking I guess! 🙂