Entry requirements for a private or charter operation are not the same question as tourist visa advice, and the answer is different for almost everyone on board. Your crew, your passengers, and anyone transiting without clearing immigration each sit under a separate rule.

This page covers what each group needs, what the aircraft must produce on arrival and departure, and the one question — crew leaving the airport overnight — that is worth settling before you plan a layover rather than after.

Who needs what

Person	Requirement	Notes
Operating crew, aircraft in transit	No visa	Valid crew licence, Crew Member Certificate or passport; enter on General Declaration.
Operating crew, entering the country (overnight layover)	ETA or visa, depending on nationality and purpose	See the layover section below — settle this before planning an overnight.
Passenger, free‑scheme nationality	ETA, no fee	30 days, double entry (tourist only).
Passenger, other nationality	ETA, fee payable	30 days, double entry (tourist).
Passenger staying on the aircraft	No visa / no ETA	Not leaving the airport.
Passenger transiting under 24 hours, airside	No visa / no ETA	Onward ticket within 24 hours; not passing immigration.
Passenger staying beyond 30 days	Extension in country	Chargeable for everyone, including free‑scheme holders.

The primary dividing line is whether the person clears immigration and for what purpose. Crew in transit while the aircraft is in Sri Lanka are treated differently from passengers, and passengers who never leave the airport are treated differently from those who enter.

Crew entry

Sri Lanka’s AIP is explicit on crew in transit: no visa is required for “crew of aircraft in transit whilst such aircraft is in Sri Lanka provided they are in possession of valid crew licence or crew member’s certificate or valid passports.”

In practice, general aviation crew arriving in Sri Lanka enter on the General Declaration. The GenDec is the operative document, and it is what immigration and customs work from.

Carry, per crew member:

• Passport, valid at least six months beyond the date of entry
• Crew Member Certificate, or the flight crew licence
• Company identification

Produce, per flight:

• General Declaration — cleared by the airport on arrival, and endorsed by Customs before departure
• Crew and passenger manifest in duplicate, on both arrival and departure. ICAO format is accepted.

The GenDec is not a formality. On departure the pilot must obtain the Customs officer’s endorsement on it, and all crew members must declare their baggage and currency to Customs when they leave.

The layover question

The AIP exemption is written for crew in transit whilst the aircraft is in Sri Lanka. It does not clearly address crew who clear immigration and leave the airport for a hotel — which is what happens on any overnight or any trip where the crew rests before the return sector.

In practice, once crew pass through immigration for an overnight stay, they are treated as visitors for that period. For most nationalities this means:

• A tourist ETA (free for the 40‑country list) if the layover is purely rest, or
• A business ETA if the layover includes operational meetings, technical visits, or other work‑related activity.

The safe operational rule is: if crew will clear immigration and leave the airport, assume an ETA or visa is required and confirm the correct category before planning the layover. That is a genuine gap in what is clearly published, and it is the wrong thing to discover at the immigration desk at two in the morning.

If your trip involves crew leaving the airport, confirm the position before you plan the rest around it. We settle this for every trip we handle, and will confirm it for a trip we are not handling if you ask.

Passenger entry

Passengers need an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), applied for before travel at the official portal, eta.gov.lk. That is the only government site. Domains that do not end in .gov.lk are commercial intermediaries, and several charge a substantial markup over the government fee.

The current position

Sri Lanka introduced a tourist ETA fee waiver for nationals of 40 countries with effect from 25 May 2026. Covered nationals receive a 30‑day ETA at no charge, with double entry. Maldivian nationals receive 90 days under a separate bilateral arrangement.

The waiver was announced as a reviewable programme rather than a permanent change. Sri Lanka has altered its entry policy repeatedly — an earlier free‑visa pilot ran from October 2024 to April 2025 under different terms and a different country list — so treat any nationality list, including ours, as a snapshot rather than a standing rule.

Category	Fee	Stay	Entries
Tourist, free‑scheme nationality (40 countries)	No charge	30 days	Double
Tourist, other nationality	Payable (online rate lower than on arrival)	30 days	Double
Business	Payable — waiver does not cover business	Per approval	Per approval
Transit (airside, under 24 hours)	No charge	Short	Single
Maldivian nationals	No charge	90 days	Double
Extension beyond 30 days	Payable by everyone	Up to 90 further days	—

Two points that catch operators out:

• The waiver covers tourist ETAs only — a passenger travelling on business needs a business ETA and pays for it, regardless of nationality.
• Extensions are chargeable for everyone, including passengers who entered free of charge.

Which nationalities are covered

The official 40‑country list (effective 25 May 2026) is:

• Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland
• France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait
• Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Russia
• Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, United States of America

Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore benefit from separate bilateral arrangements and also receive free ETAs (Maldivians get 90 days).

We deliberately do not hard‑code this list into the page body beyond this summary. It has changed twice in twenty months, and a stale nationality table is worse than no table. Check the current list at eta.gov.lk at the time of booking, or ask us and we will confirm it for the specific passports on your manifest.

What is stable enough to plan around: most of Western Europe, the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, the Gulf states, China, India and the other SAARC countries have been on the covered list since May 2026. Singapore and the Maldives hold separate bilateral arrangements. If your passenger holds a passport outside those groups, assume a fee is payable and check.

Passengers who do not clear immigration

Two categories do not need a visa or ETA at all:

• Passengers arriving and leaving on the same aircraft who do not leave the airport.
• Passengers transiting to a different aircraft within 24 hours, provided they hold an onward ticket or sufficient foreign exchange, plus any visa required for their final destination.

The second is conditional, not automatic. A transit passenger without the onward documentation for their next country is not exempt.

What the aircraft must produce

On arrival:

• General Declaration, for airport clearance
• Crew and passenger manifest, in duplicate
• Disembarkation card for each passenger — ICAO format with minor local modification

Before departure:

• General Declaration, endorsed by Customs
• Outward crew and passenger manifest, in duplicate — ICAO format accepted
• Embarkation card for each passenger

Manifests are required in duplicate on both legs. It is a small thing, and it is one of the more common causes of a turnaround stalling at the desk.

Health and currency

Vaccination. Passengers and crew should have international vaccination and inoculation certificates ready for inspection by the Airport Health Officer. Yellow fever requirements apply to anyone arriving from, or who has visited, an endemic country. This is the one health requirement that will stop a passenger at the border.

Currency. Foreign currency and travellers’ cheques totalling US$10,000 or more must be declared to Customs on arrival. Crew must declare baggage and currency on departure. For charter operations carrying cash for expenses, this threshold is easy to cross without thinking about it.

What we handle, and what stays with you

SEAS arranges:

• GenDec preparation and filing
• Manifest submission in the correct format and quantity
• Confirmation of ETA status for the passports on your manifest
• Crew and passenger immigration coordination on arrival
• Crew accommodation where an overnight is planned
• Confirmation of the crew layover position before you commit to a schedule

The operator retains:

• The accuracy of the passport and crew documentation itself
• The ETA applications for passengers — these are personal applications and are made by or for the individual traveller, not by the handling agent
• Vaccination certificates
• Any visa required for a passenger’s onward destination

The dividing line is worth stating plainly, because it is the one operators most often assume runs the other way: we cannot apply for your passengers’ ETAs on their behalf, but we will tell you exactly who needs one and what it will cost before they travel.

Confirm entry requirements for a trip →

Frequently asked questions

Do flight crew need a visa for Sri Lanka?
Crew of an aircraft in transit do not require a visa provided they hold a valid crew licence, Crew Member Certificate or valid passport, and general aviation crew normally enter on the General Declaration. The position for crew who clear immigration and leave the airport for an overnight is not clearly published — confirm it before planning a layover. In practice, once crew pass immigration for an overnight, they are treated as visitors and will usually need an ETA (tourist or business, depending on purpose).

What is the Sri Lanka ETA and where do I apply?
The Electronic Travel Authorization is Sri Lanka’s pre‑arrival entry permission, applied for online at eta.gov.lk before travel. That is the only official government portal — other sites are commercial intermediaries charging a markup. A tourist ETA grants 30 days with double entry. Processing is usually quick, but allow 24 to 48 hours.

Is the Sri Lanka tourist visa still free?
Nationals of 40 countries have received a free 30‑day tourist ETA since 25 May 2026, with Maldivian nationals receiving 90 days. It was announced as a reviewable programme rather than a permanent change, and an earlier free‑visa scheme in 2024–25 expired. Check the current list at eta.gov.lk at the time of booking rather than relying on any published list.

Does the free ETA cover business travel?
No. The fee waiver applies to tourist ETAs only. A passenger travelling to Sri Lanka on business needs a business ETA and pays the applicable fee regardless of nationality. Extensions beyond the initial period are also chargeable for everyone, including passengers who entered under the waiver.

Do transit passengers need a visa?
Not if they remain on the aircraft, or if they transit to a different aircraft within 24 hours while holding an onward ticket or sufficient foreign exchange plus any visa required for their final destination. The 24‑hour exemption is conditional on that onward documentation, not automatic.

How much currency can be brought into Sri Lanka without declaring it?
Foreign currency and travellers’ cheques totalling US$10,000 or more must be declared to Customs on arrival. Crew members must also declare baggage and currency on departure.

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Reviewed August 2026 by SEAS Operations Team, Sri Lanka Executive Aviation Services. Sri Lankan entry policy has changed twice since 2024 and is subject to further review. Confirm current requirements at eta.gov.lk before travel, or contact our operations desk.