Beninese citizens are required to hold an ETA before travelling to Sri Lanka. Apply online from Cotonou, Porto-Novo or Parakou for a 30-day, double-entry stay, with the approval recorded against your Benin passport.
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
Benin has made itself one of the easiest countries in Africa to enter, with its own e-visa system familiar to anyone who has hosted foreign guests in Cotonou or Ouidah. Beninese travelling in the other direction will find Sri Lanka's approach comparable: a short online application, an electronic approval and no consulate. The difference is that Sri Lanka requires it of every visitor without exception.
Sri Lanka's version is the Electronic Travel Authorisation, abbreviated ETA. Beninese travellers generally look it up as a visa Sri Lanka or e-visa, and for a holiday of up to a month those searches lead to this document.
Travel between the two countries is modest, made up mostly of traders, students, a few holidaymakers and Beninese living in France or the Gulf. Because so little country-specific guidance exists, this page concentrates on practical matters: the charge, the stay, the form and the journey.
At a glance
Eligibility
Beninese nationals do need an ETA, and they need it before they travel. It applies equally to adults and children, to a three-day stopover and to a full month. A traveller who reaches the first check-in desk without one is unlikely to be accepted for the flight.
The standard government rate applies to Benin. Sri Lanka's decision to drop the charge from 25 May 2026 benefits forty named countries, none of them in West Africa, and Benin has no reciprocal deal. Consult the live prices shown on this page to see that rate together with our service fee.
Most Beninese visitors are well served by the tourist ETA, which takes in holidays, visits to friends or relatives, medical and Ayurveda stays, and sporting or cultural participation. Traders from Dantokpa market hoping to arrange textile or tea supplies, and anyone attending meetings or a seminar, belong in the business category instead.
Sri Lanka also offers a transit ETA for stops of up to two days, issued without a government charge on presentation of proof of onward travel. It is rarely relevant from Benin, since Colombo is the end of the line for most itineraries, but it can suit a Beninese traveller continuing to the Maldives or South-East Asia on a separate ticket.
Stay & validity
The stay on a tourist ETA is 30 days for Beninese passport holders. That period begins at first entry and covers both of the two entries permitted. Returning from a short excursion abroad does not restart the count; you are admitted for the days still outstanding.
After approval, you have six months in which to begin your trip. A Beninese family saving towards a long-haul holiday can therefore apply well before travel without the authorisation lapsing. What the approval document says about its own validity is authoritative.
Six months' passport validity is needed on arrival. Check the expiry on your Benin passport when you first think about the trip, as renewal appointments in Cotonou can take time to obtain. An ETA cannot be moved to a replacement passport, so renewing after you apply means applying again.
Pricing
Live fees for Beninese 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 Benin
Requirements
Everything Beninese 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 ordinary circumstances. There is no guaranteed timescale, and we suggest three to five days' margin as a minimum before your departure, counting from the day you leave Benin if you are travelling to another airport first.
Benin is one hour ahead of GMT and Sri Lanka is four and a half hours ahead of Benin. An application completed over breakfast in Cotonou arrives around lunchtime in Colombo. One sent in the evening sits until the next Sri Lankan morning.
Public holidays are worth a glance. Benin marks Vodun Day on 10 January and Independence Day on 1 August, when banks close and card queries go unanswered. Sri Lanka has a Poya holiday every month, the New Year in mid-April and Vesak in May. Around any of these, add a few days.
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
Cotonou's Cadjehoun airport has a limited long-haul network, and there is no direct flight to Sri Lanka. The most direct option is a connection in Istanbul. Many Beninese instead travel the short distance to Lagos, across the Sèmè-Kraké border, where Gulf airlines offer daily one-stop services to Colombo.
Best time to go
Southern Benin has two rainy seasons, the main one from April to July and a shorter one in the autumn, with a long dry spell from November to March. Travelling in that dry spell takes you to Sri Lanka's west and south coasts at their best, and to the hill country when views are clearest.
The August school holiday coincides with a lull in the rains around Cotonou and with Independence Day celebrations. If you go then, the east coast of Sri Lanka is the place for beaches. Inland, Kandy stages its Esala Perahera, ten nights of drummers, dancers and decorated elephants.
Visitors from the home of Vodun often take an interest in Sri Lanka's own religious life. Buddhist temples, Hindu kovils, mosques and churches stand close together in most towns, and pilgrims of several faiths climb Adam's Peak between December and May. Dress modestly at sacred sites and remove shoes and hats.
Humidity on the Sri Lankan coast will be familiar to anyone from the Gulf of Guinea. The surprises are the cool hill stations and the full-moon Poya days, when no alcohol is on sale. October and November are the least predictable months for weather across the island.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Benin — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Beninese travellers who start with a road journey to Lagos sometimes leave home a day or more before the flight. Apply with enough margin to have the approval before you cross the border, since sorting out a problem from the road is difficult.
Some cards issued in Benin are set up for use within the West African monetary union only. The payment then fails without a clear explanation. Ask your bank whether online purchases from foreign merchants are enabled.
Afro-Brazilian family names common on the Beninese coast, such as de Souza, d'Almeida or da Silva, appear in the machine-readable zone without apostrophes and with fixed spacing. Copy that version, not the one on your business card.
Combining a holiday with visits to suppliers is common among West African traders. If meeting suppliers is a reason for the journey, it is a business visit, and the tourist ETA does not cover it.
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 by an embassy in Cotonou or Porto-Novo. Benin has been covered from Sri Lanka's mission in Nairobi since the regional accreditations were rearranged, though you should confirm this with the foreign ministry if you ever need it. For an ETA you will not, as the entire procedure is online.
FAQs
The questions Beninese passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. Beninese citizens must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which serves as the Sri Lanka visa for short visits, before they travel. It is issued online and gives tourists 30 days with two entries.
In spirit, yes: both are applied for online and approved electronically. The Sri Lankan authorisation is linked to your passport number, lasts for a 30-day stay and must be approved before you board.
We do not quote figures in the text because they can change. Benin is charged the standard government rate plus a service fee, and both are shown in the live prices shown on this page before you pay.
Yes. The ETA is not tied to a departure airport. Many Beninese use Lagos for its wider choice of flights; just make sure you meet Nigeria's entry conditions for the overland leg and allow time for the border.
Benin is a yellow fever risk country, and Sri Lanka's health service asks arrivals from such countries for a vaccination certificate. It is a separate check from immigration. Keep the certificate to hand at the health desk.
The ETA stays with the old passport number and cannot be transferred. You would need a new application with the new passport, and government charges already paid are not refunded.
Yes, because seeing relatives or friends counts as a tourist purpose for Beninese visitors. The visit is limited to 30 days, and studying or working during it is not permitted.
No. It authorises you to travel to Sri Lanka. An immigration officer makes the final decision on entry and may ask a Beninese visitor for a return ticket, accommodation details and evidence of funds.
Your nationality is already set to Benin. 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.
