Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda must have an ETA approved before boarding for Sri Lanka. With regular flights from V.C. Bird to London and a nonstop onward to Colombo, the paperwork is the simplest part to finish first.
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
Antigua is better connected to the wider world than its size suggests. V.C. Bird International is one of the busiest gateways in the Leeward Islands, with year-round flights to London, and London happens to be where Sri Lanka's national airline flies nonstop to Colombo. For an Antiguan, that makes Sri Lanka two flights away, which is as good as it gets from the Eastern Caribbean.
Interest in the trip comes from several directions. Antigua produced Viv Richards, Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose, and its cricket followers know Galle and Colombo as venues long before they see them. Others are drawn by wildlife, tea country and ancient cities that have no equivalent on an island known for beaches, or are economic citizens based in Asia or the Gulf for whom Sri Lanka is close by.
All of them need the same thing before they go: an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which you may see described as a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. It is requested online and tied to the passport.
At a glance
Eligibility
Antiguans and Barbudans do need an ETA to enter Sri Lanka for a short visit, and it must be obtained in advance of travel. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic staff in Antigua can check passengers through to Colombo only if the authorisation is already on record, so it is a condition of boarding in practice as well as on paper.
The government charge applies at the standard rate to an Antigua and Barbuda passport. Sri Lanka's fee waiver, in force since 25 May 2026, covers forty named countries and Antigua and Barbuda was not included. We show the up-to-date cost, with our service fee itemised, in the live prices on this page.
Antigua and Barbuda runs a citizenship by investment programme, and a good many of its passports are held by people who live in China, the Middle East, South Asia or West Africa. If that describes you, apply as a national of Antigua and Barbuda with that passport, regardless of where you were born or where you bank. Country of birth is asked for separately and does not change the nationality you declare.
Antiguans with family in Leicester, the Bronx or Toronto frequently hold a British, American or Canadian passport as well. All three countries benefit from the waiver. Travelling on that second passport removes the government charge, but the application has to be made with it from the outset.
Stay & validity
An Antiguan on a tourist ETA may stay 30 days and enter twice. The 30 days are a single allowance that begins at the first arrival stamp. A second entry, say after a few days in the Maldives, picks up whatever balance is left and does not reset the count.
You have six months from the date of approval in which to begin the trip. If you apply in October for a February holiday, the authorisation will still be good when you fly. Any specific condition printed on the approval itself overrides this general rule.
Two weeks is the usual length of an Antiguan visit, given the travel time, so the 30-day limit rarely bites. If you do need more, the Department of Immigration and Emigration at Battaramulla considers extension requests, and you should make yours before the date stamped in your passport.
Pricing
Live fees for Antigua and Barbuda 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 Antigua and Barbuda
Requirements
Everything Antigua and Barbuda 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.
Expect an answer within a day or two in the ordinary run of things. Antigua and Barbuda passports are processed in the normal queue, and economic citizens are not asked for extra documents through the online ETA simply because of how they acquired nationality.
Our advice is to submit at least three to five days ahead, and earlier for travel in the December to March high season. Antiguans leaving straight after Carnival in early August should also allow extra time, since that is when the Kandy Perahera fills hotels and flights into Colombo. Timings are typical, not promised.
St John's is nine and a half hours behind Colombo throughout the year. If we or the Sri Lankan authorities need to clarify something, the message is likely to reach you in the small hours, so check your email each morning until the approval arrives.
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
Antigua has no direct air service to Sri Lanka, but it has the shortest practical routing in the Eastern Caribbean. Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic fly from V.C. Bird to London, and from Heathrow SriLankan Airlines continues nonstop to Colombo. Travellers who prefer to go via North America can connect in Miami or New York for a Gulf carrier. Barbudans begin with the short flight or ferry across to Antigua. Look up the transit requirements for the United Kingdom or the United States before you buy.
Best time to go
Antigua's own high season, from mid-December to April, is when hotels, charter yachts and restaurants need every pair of hands. It is also the prime period for Sri Lanka's south-west, from Bentota round to Tangalle, and for walking in the hills near Ella. Antiguans who can get away then will see the island at its most dependable.
Sailing Week closes the Antiguan season at the end of April and into May, and after it many people in the trade take their break. By then the south-west monsoon is arriving in Colombo, so turn east instead. Trincomalee and Pasikudah are dry and calm from May through September.
Carnival runs from late July to the first Tuesday in August. Flying out the following week brings you to Kandy for the Esala Perahera in a good year, and to Arugam Bay while the surf is still running. This also happens to be the height of the hurricane season at home.
Independence Day on 1 November falls in Sri Lanka's showery inter-monsoon. If a November trip is the only option, base yourself in the Cultural Triangle around Sigiriya and Dambulla, where rain tends to come in afternoon bursts, and check the Poya calendar because full-moon days are dry in the other sense.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Antigua and Barbuda — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Economic citizens living in Guangzhou, Lagos or Dubai sometimes select the country they live in. The ETA must be issued in the nationality of the passport presented. If you travel on the Antigua and Barbuda passport, that is the nationality to choose, every time.
Antiguans renewing ahead of a big trip occasionally apply with the old number to save time. The replacement booklet carries a different number, and the authorisation does not carry over to it. Wait for the new passport, then apply.
Barbudans hold the same Antigua and Barbuda passport as Antiguans. There is one nationality to select, and place of birth can read Codrington without affecting anything.
The London connection is convenient but not automatic. A British Airways arrival at Gatwick followed by a departure from Heathrow means crossing the city, and a missed onward flight shifts your arrival date in Colombo. Keep the date on your ETA application realistic.
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 is not represented in St John's. An Antiguan applying for an ETA never needs a mission, since the application, payment and approval all happen online. The offices listed are simply the nearest or most convenient Sri Lankan posts, not ones confirmed as accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, so verify responsibility with the Sri Lankan foreign ministry if you require consular help.
FAQs
The questions Antigua and Barbuda passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. Antigua and Barbuda citizens need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, the online permit often called a Sri Lanka visa, before any short visit. A tourist ETA allows a 30-day stay and two entries, and it is linked to your passport number.
Yes. The government charge is levied at the standard rate because Antigua and Barbuda is not one of the forty waiver countries. Children under 12 are exempt from that charge. Current totals appear in the live prices shown on this page.
Yes. An Antigua and Barbuda passport obtained through investment is treated like any other for ETA purposes. Declare Antigua and Barbuda as your nationality, give your true country of birth, and travel on the same passport you applied with.
Through London. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways both serve Antigua, and SriLankan Airlines flies nonstop from Heathrow to Colombo.
Yes. Barbudans are citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and carry the same passport, so the process and the charge are identical. Choose Antigua and Barbuda as nationality and enter the passport details as printed.
You can, once. The tourist ETA allows two entries within 30 days of your first arrival. An Antiguan who lands on the 1st and returns from Malé on the 15th would have until the 30th, not a further 30 days.
Whichever you will show at the border. United States nationals have the government charge waived on a tourist ETA, whereas the Antiguan passport pays the standard rate. The one firm requirement is that the passport on the application and the passport in your hand are the same.
No authorisation guarantees admission. The immigration officer in Colombo makes the final decision and may ask to see your return ticket to Antigua and proof that you can fund your stay. Carry both in your hand luggage.
Your nationality is already set to Antigua and Barbuda. 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.
