Sri Lanka - Immigration
Immigration Procedures:
Passports must be valid for at least 6 months on arrival.
If you attempt to clear into Sri Lanka without a pre-approved visa, you may be asked to leave Sri Lanka waters immediately, or you may be charged a significant fee to process your visa on demand.
Visas:
Sri Lanka requires that you apply and be approved for a visa prior to arrival. You can apply for the visa online at www.eta.gov.lk, which also gives the fees applicable.
Tourist visas are issued for 30 days but can be extended to a maximum of six months by visiting the Department of Immigration and Emigration Head office in Columbo.
It is recommended to apply for a Visitors Visa rather than a Transit Visa because if you overstay your Transit Visa there are hefty fines to pay.
For more information, please visit the Immigration website.
Have the e-mail confirmation of the visa approval at hand to show Immigration officers on arrival at your port of entry. You will need to visit the local Immigration office after clearance to collect your pre-approved visa.
Incoming Crew and Guests:
The skipper may not engage any crew while in Sri Lanka without permission from Immigration or police. A new crew list should be given to the police if there are any crew changes.
Outgoing Crew and Guests:
Any crew or passengers leaving the yacht in Sri Lanka must get a landing endorsement from Immigration or police before leaving the harbour. It is an offence for someone who is not a crew member, or no longer a crew member, to move ashore without a landing endorsement.
Last updated: September 2023
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We have had last week a tour in Sri-Lanka, unfortunately we had a very bad guide from Galle Harbour, mr. Jozef. He presented himself as a well-educated and good guide, but on the way he informed us very poor about culture and possibilities, was each evening complete drunk and present himself in the daytime as a clown to other people.
We agreed to pay 50% of the trip in advance and after the trip the other 50% by banktransfer. Each day he forced us to pay him a part of the last 50% payment, only to pay the hotels, excursions and the rest to buy cigarettes and alcohol for his own pleasure.
That’s why we hardly advice you, don’t make further appointments with him!!
We can recommend an very honest other guide, Mr. Asela who is also a cheap Tuktuk driver for the marina-people. This is a well educated man, knows a lot of facts over the Sri-Lanka culture and is a good guide to join with and organise your trip in Sri-Lanka! You can reach him on Telephone/WhatsApp 077 920 8933.
He will not disappoint you!!
Apr 22, 2019 12:43 PM
We used GAC in Galle and Nuwan in Galle did a good job with the paperwork but the GAC system is painful – all instructions have to go via GAC Colombo – and stuff gets lost in the communication. They also charged $400 for clearing in a 10kg parcel at Colombo and shipping to Galle Harbour. They are more geared to big ships, so, while I don’t have experience of the others, I wonder if there is a better alternative
Mar 31, 2019 09:20 AM
We had a great 25-day stay in Sri Lanka. Our boat was in Trincomalee the whole time, which we loved. The anchorage is flat calm and the town is quiet. We cleared in using Sandeep from GAC, who was extremely helpful to us.
We hired a driver, Raj, to get us around the Cultural Triangle for three days. He can be reached at +94 77 766 7256. He dropped us off at Kandy where we took the train down to Ella and back over three days, and then we had Raj organize a driver to get us to Wilpattu for a three-day safari then back to the boat.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country. It’s unfortunate we can’t gunkhole, but I enjoyed our stay.
Provisioning is available. Food City is a small grocery store, but has meats (chicken, some pork and some beef), cheese, and basic pantry goods. Near the dock in Trinco, there are a few small shops with staples. Dried beans, raisins and dates are easy to find.
We used Dialogue for our SIM, and got 30 GB (with time restrictions) for $8USD.
clif everett says:
Feb 23, 2019 04:35 AM
Tango shipping agency got us through customs formalities on a national holiday at 8pm. I was amazed. The price was $325. We were able to go to dinner that same evening.
When we arrived in Sri Lanka we called for Tango Shipping Agency on the Ch 16 – Mr Chatura and Nilusha were great and went beyond the formalities to enter the country. Mr Chatura is a man of the sea, very experienced in many areas and helped us a lot in electrical problems for free! They were clear, helpful and kind and we became friends.
We also made friends with the helpful and smiley Ekka, the tuk-tuk driver that knows everything and everyone – http://www.ekkatours.com +94723371116. We loved Sri Lanka, thank you all!
Steve – the best group to get involved with is the Red Sea Passage Facebook Group. See http://www.noonsite.com/General/Piracy/red-sea-passage-facebook-group.
There is also a facebook group for Crossing the Indian Ocean (on passage)
I am planning to sail from Sri Lanka to the Red Sea early in 2019 and would like to communicate with other sailors (owners and/or crew) interested in doing the same.
To everyone planning to go to Trincomalee Sri Lanka…
TWO important points…
NIGHT TIME ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE
Be advised that entrance or exit in or out of Trincomalee Port is NOT allowed at night. There will be no circumstance that will permit entrance at night. There are no lighted buoys, and the harbormaster is not willing to be responsible for your nighttime entrance/departure. You must heave to or drift until morning if you arrive at night. Plan your arrivals accordingly.
CUSTOMS CLEARANCE TO PORT
Be advised that it is a big problem if you arrive in Trincomalee with clearance to a port of “Maldives” or anything besides “Trincomalee, Sri Lanka” or “High Seas”. GAC agent Sandeep worked hard for many hours today to get the problem cleared up with customs, and it is now resolved, but be aware that common practice elsewhere is not common practice here.
We cannot speak highly enough of our agent, Sandeep Kavinda Wickramarathne, from GAC Shipping Ltd. (Ph +94764675451). We paid US$310 to GAC Shipping for their services for a one month stay in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. We found them to be very professional and efficient. Clearing in was no problem and very friendly. Nobody asked for any extra fees.
The harbour is an excellent place to anchor and leave your boat for a few days exploring inland. Trincomalee is a nice sized town to use as a base for further travel inland. We had an excellent and well-priced guide – Yosef Ph.+94778802557. His price included all his expenses and then we paid for our meals and hotel on top of that. We were not approached by any fishermen upon entering the harbour.
We chose Trincomalee because we had heard that the concrete plant in Gal leaves concrete dust all over your boat.
Overall a great anchorage with good holding, easy access and great people.