Visa requirements for Sri Lankan citizens

Visa requirements for Sri Lankan citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Sri Lanka.

As of 2024, Sri Lankan citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 44 countries and territories, ranking the Sri Lankan passport 97th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.^[1] This has hampered the ability of Sri Lankan business people to travel and connect with peers and maintain a globally competitive outlook.^[2]

Although Sri Lanka is a middle-income country, successive Sri Lankan governments have made little or no efforts to improve the standing of the passport.^[3][4] The Sri Lankan passport continues to rank in the bottom 10% of Henley's Annual Passport Rankings.^[5] Considering the extent of the Sri Lankan diaspora, a passport with wider access to the world could contribute to a more competitive and future-ready society.^[6]

Sri Lanka has limited personal or business contacts with the ASEAN, a region with which it shares significant historical and cultural relations. Within the SAARC region, the Sri Lankan government has made little effort to encourage religious tourism from countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.^[7] Sri Lanka and Thailand have signed a Free Trade Agreement in February 2024, and agreed to enable visa-free travel.^[8]

Sri Lankans are unable to travel to Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and the Philippines, four of the world's most important markets, without a complex visa application process with a hefty visa fee.^[9] The inability to access the financial markets of Hong Kong has been especially detrimental to the growth of businesses in Sri Lanka.^[10]

Despite demands from citizens and civil society groups, Sri Lanka has largely been unsuccessful in expanding visa-free travel for its citizens.^[11] The Sri Lankan government has been able to negotiate visa-free travel to numerous countries for diplomatic and official passport holders, effectively developing a 2-tiered system that benefits state officials and politicians over ordinary citizens.^{[12][13][14][15]} Likewise, the Sri Lankan state spends millions on maintaining an extensive diplomatic service, which is said to bring little or no benefits to its citizens.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2024, Sri Lanka announced it will issue biometric passports to its citizens in order to address the poor standing of the passport.^[16]

Most recently, Sri Lanka signed a visa waiver for diplomatic and official passport holders with Cambodia.^[17] The Sri Lankan state has made statements from time to time that it wishes to enhance links within the Indian Ocean littoral but has largely struggled to convert these statements into reality.^[18] In 2023, the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickramasinghe noted that Sri Lanka had applied for membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and is actively seeking to establish trade relations with countries in ASEAN.^[19]