Afghanistan is a SAARC member, so Afghan passport holders are charged Sri Lanka's reduced SAARC government rate for the ETA. The authorisation is required before travel and gives a tourist stay of 30 days with two entries.
30 days
Stay on a tourist ETA
Double
Entries permitted
6 months
Passport validity needed
3 options
Tourist, Business, Transit
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
Afghanistan and Sri Lanka sit at opposite ends of South Asia and share membership of SAARC, the regional association that also includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. That link has a direct consequence for Afghan travellers, because Sri Lanka applies a lower government charge to SAARC nationals who are not covered by its wider fee waiver.
The requirement itself is the same as for everyone else. An Afghan citizen must hold an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation before travelling, a document many people refer to as the Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. Afghans come for a range of reasons: visits to friends, medical and Ayurvedic care, holidays taken from the Gulf, and cricket, a passion both countries share.
Afghan applicants face some specific questions that guidance written for other nationalities ignores, among them single names, dates of birth converted from the Solar Hijri calendar, and the fact that many Afghans apply from Dubai, Islamabad, Tehran or Europe. The sections that follow work through each of them.
At a glance
Eligibility
Afghan citizens need an ETA for every short visit to Sri Lanka, and it should be approved before you set out. SAARC membership lowers the government charge but does not create visa-free entry, a distinction worth being clear about before you buy a ticket.
The rate for Afghanistan is the reduced SAARC one, which Sri Lanka applies to Afghan, Bangladeshi and Bhutanese passports. Other SAARC members such as India, Pakistan and Nepal are treated under the separate waiver, so do not assume a Pakistani or Indian friend's experience matches yours. Children under twelve are not charged the government fee on a tourist ETA of up to 30 days, and the live prices shown on this page set out the current position.
Tourism, visiting friends and relatives, medical treatment and taking part in or watching sporting events all fall under the tourist option. Afghan traders in dried fruit, saffron, carpets or gemstones who intend to meet buyers are travelling on business and need the business option. Employment of any kind and stays built from repeated back-to-back visits are not permitted.
What matters is the passport you travel on. Afghans who have acquired another nationality and carry that country's passport apply under that nationality, and its rate applies; those travelling on an Afghan passport apply as Afghan citizens, wherever they happen to live.
Stay & validity
An Afghan tourist is granted 30 days from the date of first arrival. Two entries are allowed on the ETA, both inside that thirty-day period, and returning from a trip to a neighbouring country gives you the balance, not a new term.
The approval stays valid for travel for six months after issue. That flexibility helps when flights from Kabul are rescheduled or when a family is assembling from several countries, but always go by the conditions printed on the approval you receive.
The six-month passport rule deserves attention. Sri Lanka requires that much validity on the day of arrival, and renewing an Afghan passport can be slow, particularly for citizens living abroad. Check the date before applying, since an ETA issued for one passport cannot be used with its replacement. A stay longer than thirty days requires an extension from the Department of Immigration and Emigration, headquartered in Battaramulla near Colombo.
Pricing
Live fees for Afghan passport holders, shown all-in — any government charge that applies to your passport and our service fee together, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Afghanistan
Requirements
Everything Afghan passport holders need before starting an application. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality.
Passport valid for at least six months from the date you arrive in Sri Lanka — the same passport you will travel on
A clear image of the passport bio-data page, with every corner visible and no glare over the photograph
A working email address, which is where the approval is sent and which you should be able to open while travelling
A credit or debit card for online payment
Your intended arrival date and an address in Sri Lanka, such as your first hotel
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with one form per traveller and a full review before you pay.
Pick the Tourist, Business or Transit option that matches the real purpose of your trip, and add every traveller in your party to the same application.
Give each traveller's details exactly as printed on the passport, plus the intended arrival date and an address in Sri Lanka. Entries are made in English.
Check every name, date and passport number on the review screen before paying. Corrections are simple at this stage and difficult afterwards.
The approval is linked electronically to your passport number. Keep a copy on your phone and a printout with your travel documents for check-in and arrival.
Many Afghan applications are decided within a day or two, though some take longer and no period is promised. Submitting complete, consistent details that match the passport exactly is the most useful thing you can do to avoid a delay.
Allow more margin than the general three-to-five-day guideline. We would encourage Afghan applicants to apply two weeks or more before departure, and to wait for the approval before paying for non-refundable flights or hotels.
Applying on behalf of a relative is common, with a brother in Dubai or a cousin in Hamburg filling in the form for family members in Kabul or Herat. That is fine, but work from a clear photograph of each passport page instead of details read out over the phone, because mistakes cannot be amended after payment.
On arrival
An approved ETA gets you on the plane. This is what happens once you land, and how to make the arrival as quick as possible.
Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, about 30 kilometres north of Colombo, handles nearly all international arrivals. Follow the signs to immigration and join the foreign passport queue.
The officer retrieves your ETA from the passport number. Have the approval email to hand as a backup, on paper or saved offline, since airport connectivity is not guaranteed.
You may be asked where you are staying, how long for and when you leave. A hotel confirmation and your return ticket answer all three in a few seconds.
Your passport is endorsed with the date you must leave by. Read it at the counter — that date, not the length of your booking, is what counts if your plans change.
Getting there
No carrier flies directly between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The established way out of Kabul is through the United Arab Emirates, from where Colombo is a single flight. Afghans resident in the Gulf, Pakistan or Europe usually start from those places and never route through Kabul at all.
Best time to go
Kabul's winter is severe, with snow and hard frosts from December to February, and those months are the dry, sunny season on Sri Lanka's west and south coasts. If you are travelling for rest or for medical treatment in Colombo, this is the most comfortable period, and the sea at Mount Lavinia, Bentota and Hikkaduwa is calm.
Nawroz on 21 March, the first day of the Afghan year, still falls within good weather on the south-west side of the island. The two Eid holidays move through the calendar, so check which coast is in season when they arrive: west and south from December to April, east from May to September.
Cricket followers plan differently. When Afghanistan's national side tours Sri Lanka, matches are typically staged in Colombo, Pallekele near Kandy, Dambulla or Hambantota, and travelling to support the team is a recognised tourist purpose. Fixture dates, not the monsoon, will decide your timing, so pack for rain interruptions.
Sri Lanka runs one hour ahead of Kabul throughout the year. Afghan visitors will find a sizeable Muslim community, with mosques and halal food easy to locate in Colombo, Kandy, Galle and all along the east coast, and should expect most shops and offices to close on the monthly Poya full-moon holiday.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Afghanistan — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Plenty of Afghans have one name only, and passports reflect that in different ways. Adding a tribal name, a father's name or a nickname the passport does not show creates an authorisation for a person who, on paper, does not exist.
Solar Hijri dates convert to different Gregorian days depending on the method, and many passports show 1 January where the exact day was unknown. Use the passport's printed date even if you believe your real birthday is another day.
The association brings Afghans a reduced government rate, nothing more. Travellers who have heard that South Asian neighbours no longer pay sometimes conclude that no application is needed, and are stopped at check-in in Kabul or Dubai.
An approved ETA lets you fly, but admission is decided at the border. Arriving without a return ticket, an address or evidence of money invites longer questioning, so keep those documents in your hand luggage.
Passport number mistyped
The authorisation attaches to the number you enter. One wrong character produces an ETA that does not match the passport handed over at the counter, and a paid application cannot be edited afterwards.
Passport with under six months left
Sri Lanka expects six months of validity counted from the day you arrive, not the day you apply. A passport that falls short is refused at check-in regardless of the ETA.
The wrong ETA type
Attending meetings or a conference on a tourist ETA is outside its conditions. Choose the option that matches what you will actually do in the country.
Conditions
These conditions are set by Sri Lanka's Department of Immigration and Emigration and do not vary by nationality.
Sri Lanka requires an Electronic Travel Authorisation for short visits by all foreign nationals, and it should be approved before you travel. Even where the government charge is waived, the authorisation itself is still required.
The authorisation is recorded against the passport number you enter. If that passport is lost, replaced or renewed before you travel, the ETA does not move across and a new application is needed.
A tourist ETA allows two entries. The stay period runs from your first arrival, so a second entry is granted only the balance of that period rather than a fresh allowance.
A tourist ETA covers holidays, family visits, medical treatment and cultural or sporting events. Business meetings, conferences and short training need the business option, and a stopover of up to two days uses the transit option.
Immigration officers at the port of entry may ask for a confirmed return or onward ticket and evidence that you can support yourself for the length of your stay.
An approved ETA lets you travel to Sri Lanka. The decision to admit you is made by an immigration officer on arrival, and the conditions printed on your approval govern your stay.
Consular services
Sri Lanka no longer has an embassy operating in Kabul. For a tourist ETA that makes no difference, since Afghan citizens apply online and nothing is lodged at a diplomatic office. Purposes that need prior government clearance, such as media or NGO work, cannot be arranged through the online route.
FAQs
The questions Afghan passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. Afghans need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), commonly called a Sri Lanka visa, approved online before they travel. It allows a tourist stay of 30 days with two entries and is linked to the passport number.
Afghan passports are charged Sri Lanka's reduced SAARC government rate, which is lower than the standard rate applied to most other nationalities. A service fee for our assistance is added. The live prices on this page show the present total.
Match the passport. Enter the name in the field where the passport prints it and do not create a surname that is not there. If the passport repeats your name in both lines, repeat it on the form in the same way.
Yes, the application is online and can be made from any country. You apply as an Afghan citizen with your Afghan passport details. A UAE residence visa or Pakistani registration card is not a replacement for the ETA.
Normally through Dubai or Sharjah, with Kam Air, Ariana, flydubai or Air Arabia on the first leg and a connecting flight to Colombo. Allow ten to thirteen hours in total, and confirm schedules close to departure because they change.
Yes. Attending a sporting event as a spectator, and indeed competing in one, is within the purposes of a tourist ETA. Media accreditation is a separate matter that needs prior government approval.
Medical treatment, including Ayurveda, is a permitted purpose on the tourist ETA. The stay is 30 days, so if your treatment plan is longer you would need to seek an extension from the immigration department in Battaramulla before that time is up.
Often a day or two, but it can be longer and is never guaranteed. Apply at least two weeks before your flight and hold off on non-refundable bookings until the approval email has arrived.
Your nationality is already set to Afghanistan. Complete the form in around ten minutes, review every detail, and receive your ETA by email.
Other nationalities
Charges, routes and the practical details differ by passport. Here are the guides for other nationalities.
