Sri Lanka updated travel restrictions in December 2021

Sri Lanka travel restriction is a must known topic for all the travellers out there who are planning to visit Sri Lanka. The beautiful island is open to the world again with strict covid-19 travel protocols to ensure the safety of the country and of the travellers.

The country does not demand a minimum length of stay, so you are free to fit Sri Lanka into your travel plans easily. Sri Lanka has been able to acquire the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Safe Travels Stamp, which is given for countries with good Covid-19 safety protocols in place across the country, which gives travellers confidence to travel Sri Lanka without any hesitation.

If you, too, have long waiting plans to visit Sri Lanka, here’s what you need to know and follow when travelling to Sri Lanka.

Who is a fully vaccinated traveller?

Before we dive into all the information on travel restrictions and covid-19 travel protocols in Sri Lanka, it’s important to clarify who is a fully vaccinated traveller to understand Sri Lanka covid-19 travel protocols that are applied to your category.

Anyone who has received all the vaccine doses 14 days before the departure to Sri Lanka is considered a fully vaccinated traveller. However, for children between the age of 12-18, receiving one dose of the Pfizer vaccine 14 days prior to departure is enough to fall under the category of fully vaccinated.

Updated travel restrictions in Sri Lanka.

Following are the updated Sri Lanka travel restrictions for travellers as of 26th November 2021.

The approval process to enter Sri Lanka.

Prior to boarding the flight, visa applications must be submitted online with the online health declaration form, which you can find here. The on-arrival visa is no longer available. Here, you will have to provide the following documents as well.

Vaccination record,
pre-departure covid-19 negative test report
Data page of the passport etc.

During the visa application procedure, you will be required to pay for necessary PCR tests (40 USD for each PCR test) and insurance (12 USD) with a one-month cover of 50,000 USD. If you are not fully vaccinated, you must pre-book a Level 1 ‘Safe & Secure’ hotel for the first 14 days of your stay for quarantine purposes.

Documentation requirements: Vaccinated travellers.

You need to provide the original certification of vaccination as proof. If the document is not in English, a certified translated copy of the original document of the information that is not in English in the original document is needed. It should clearly mention the name of the vaccine and the date of vaccination. Electronic vaccination certificates can also be provided as verifiable evidence of vaccination.

Pre-departure requirements

All travellers 2 years old and above should take a PCR test within 72 hours prior to departure as proof that you are covid-19 negative. The original report or certified translation of the document/test report (if the document is not in English) is required.

Any traveller with a history of Covid-19 infection within the past 3 months must submit a negative Covid 19 Rapid Antigen test report in English done within 48 hours before their departure.

Process upon arrival

Upon arrival, you will be required to complete a health declaration form which you can find on check-in counters and when onboarding the flight and hand it over to the health officer at the airport. A separate form must be filled for each adult and each child. Along with the form, proof of vaccination, a negative PCR test report done within 72 hours prior to departure (for fully vaccinated travellers) or a negative Rapid Antigen test report done within 48 hours (for non-vaccinated travellers) before the departure must be provided.

During your stay

Non-vaccinated travellers have to spend a 14 day quarantine period in a Level 1 ‘Safe & Secure’ hotel and obtain a “Discharge Document” prior to leaving quarantine before continuing with their travels. Others can stay in any hotel. Such hotels facilitate biosecure travel bubbles for travellers to ensure a secure stay with access to all the facilities. You can freely travel in Sri Lanka and visit approved cultural and heritage sites

Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Yala National Park
Udawalawe National Park Safari
Eth Athurusevana
Kaudulla national park
Wilpaththu national park
Mirissa whale watching
Pinnawala Open zoo
Pinnawala Elephant orphanage
Ridigama safari park
Sigiriya lion rock fortress
Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa
Royal botanical garden in Peradeniya
Laksala- Kandy
Laksala Pinnawala
Temple of the Tooth in Kandy

Travel restricted / high-risk countries

Almost everyone is welcomed in Sri Lanka, regardless of which part of the world you are from. However, travellers from the following countries and travellers with a travel history to those countries are not eligible to enter Sri Lanka until further notice.

South Africa
Botswana
Lesotho
Namibia
Eswatini (Swaziland)
Zimbabwe

Exit requirements

To board your flight out of Sri Lanka, you must provide documentation of a negative PCR test completed no more than 96 hours before the flight’s departure time.

Sri Lanka Country specific information

Sri Lanka has 580k confirmed cases of Covid -19 (December 2021), including the B.1.1.7 variant. However, the authorities have been managing the situation very well, imposing necessary safety protocols and procedures for the locals and for foreigners entering the countries. This has enabled the country to release covid restrictions within the country, such as quarantine curfews and travel restrictions within the country, enabling locals to go back to their normal way of life. The country has been open for tourists since …