German travellers need an ETA before flying to Sri Lanka, whether for a round trip through the Cultural Triangle or a three-week Ayurveda cure. It grants 30 days and two entries on a Reisepass, with the government charge waived for German citizens.
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
Important for German citizens
German passports fall under the waiver introduced on 25 May 2026: Sri Lanka applies no government charge to a tourist ETA. Obtaining the ETA before travel remains a requirement.
Overview
Germans have been travelling to Sri Lanka in large numbers since the first package flights of the 1970s, and they travel differently from most visitors. The typical German trip is long and well planned: a Rundreise by car and driver through Sigiriya, Kandy and the tea country, followed by a week on the coast, or a full Ayurveda Kur of two or three weeks at a resort on the south-west shore. Sri Lanka's Ayurveda hotels owe much of their business to guests from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Before any of that, there is one formality. Sri Lanka requires an Electronic Travel Authorisation from all foreign nationals, and it needs to be approved before departure. In German it is usually just called the Sri Lanka Visum or E-Visum, and for a holiday the two expressions mean the same thing. Germany is one of the 40 countries whose citizens have paid no Sri Lankan government charge for a tourist ETA since 25 May 2026.
This guide concentrates on what is particular to applicants from Germany. That means umlauts and the sharp S, doctoral titles and birth names on the passport, the shorter validity of passports issued to younger Germans, the girocard that does not work for payment, and the way school holidays staggered across sixteen federal states meet Sri Lanka's two monsoon seasons.
At a glance
Eligibility
German citizens need an ETA to enter Sri Lanka, and it cannot be replaced by a Personalausweis, a booking confirmation or membership of the European Union. Travellers accustomed to crossing half of Europe with an identity card should be clear that this journey needs a passport and a prior authorisation, both of which the airline verifies at Frankfurt or Munich.
The tourist ETA fits the usual German itineraries. Round trips, beach holidays and visits to friends are covered, and so is medical treatment, which expressly includes Ayurveda and yoga. A Panchakarma cure at a resort in Beruwala or Weligama therefore needs nothing more than the ordinary tourist authorisation, as long as it fits within the permitted stay.
Work is excluded, and the exclusion is wider than many expect. Paid or unpaid employment, self-employed activity, and trade are all outside the tourist ETA, which rules out helping in a hostel in exchange for a bed as much as it rules out freelance jobs for local clients. Trade fair visits, business meetings, conferences and short training courses belong under the business option.
Many people living in Germany hold a second nationality, and the application has to follow the passport that will be shown in Colombo. A dual German and Turkish citizen, for example, is covered by the waiver on either passport but must enter the details of the one in hand. Residents of Germany who are not German citizens apply under their own nationality, and a German residence permit makes no difference to what Sri Lanka charges.
Stay & validity
With a tourist ETA, German visitors may stay 30 days from the date of first entry and may enter twice. For a standard two- or three-week holiday that is ample. The second entry matters to those who add a few nights in the Maldives after their round trip: the return to Colombo is allowed, but only for the days still left from the original 30.
An approved ETA can be used to travel for six months after issue. German travellers are early bookers by reputation, and Frühbucher offers for the winter season often go on sale the previous summer. Applying soon after booking is fine. The conditions stated on the approval are decisive, so keep the email and a printout with your travel documents.
Sri Lanka requires the passport to be valid for six months beyond the arrival date. Germans aged 24 and over receive a Reisepass valid for ten years, but those under 24 get one valid for only six, and families often overlook how quickly a teenager's passport expires. The Kinderreisepass is no longer issued, so children now need a regular electronic passport of their own. Order replacements early, since the Bundesdruckerei typically takes several weeks.
A stay of more than 30 days, for instance a long Ayurveda programme followed by a tour, or a sabbatical winter on the coast, requires an extension from the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla, outside Colombo. Request it before the first period ends. Stringing visits together to stay in the country for most of the year is not something the tourist ETA allows.
Pricing
Live fees for German 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 Germany
Requirements
Everything German 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.
Most applications from Germany are approved in a day or two. Because that cannot be guaranteed, allow at least three to five days before departure. For anyone who has paid in advance for a three-week cure or a private round trip, an earlier application is cheap insurance.
German demand follows the school calendar of the federal states. The Christmas holidays, the winter and Easter breaks and the autumn holidays in October all produce peaks, and because Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and the northern states take their holidays at different times, the busy period lasts longer than in countries with a single national calendar. Apply two weeks ahead if you travel during any of them.
There is no advantage in waiting until the last minute. The six-month travel window means an ETA obtained in October serves just as well for a flight in February. The only reason to delay is a pending passport renewal at the Bürgeramt, in which case wait for the new document so that the authorisation is linked to the right number.
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
Frankfurt is the main German gateway to Sri Lanka, with SriLankan Airlines operating nonstop flights to Colombo several times a week. Travellers from Munich, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Berlin usually connect once in the Gulf or in Istanbul, which often works out faster than first flying to Frankfurt. In the winter season some tour operators also sell seats on holiday carriers, so compare options when you book.
Best time to go
Sri Lanka is four and a half hours ahead of Germany in winter and three and a half in summer, since only Germany switches to daylight saving time. Evening departures from Frankfurt arrive the next morning, and the modest time difference is one reason the island suits a two-week holiday better than destinations farther east.
The main season for German visitors is November to March, when the west and south coasts are dry and the Ayurveda resorts between Beruwala and Tangalle are full. The Christmas holidays and the winter break in February fall in the best of the weather. Experienced Kur guests often prefer January and February, after the festive surcharges have ended.
The Easter holidays generally still work for the south-west and the highlands, though mid-April coincides with Sinhala and Tamil New Year, when drivers and guides take time off and some restaurants close. Whitsun and the summer holidays fall in the south-west monsoon. For those weeks, plan the beach part of the trip on the east coast around Trincomalee, Nilaveli or Pasikudah, and consider the Esala Perahera in Kandy in July or August.
The autumn holidays in October land in the inter-monsoon period: warm, green and showery across the island, with lower prices and fewer visitors. It is a good time for the Cultural Triangle and for wildlife in Wilpattu or Yala. Ayurveda guests should know that some doctors recommend the rainy months for treatment. Check the Poya calendar too, as no alcohol is served on full-moon days.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Germany — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
The application is completed in English characters, and a name such as Müller or Weiß has to be entered the way the passport's machine-readable zone renders it: MUELLER and WEISS. Writing Muller, or pasting in the ü itself, produces a name that does not match the document.
German passports can show a doctoral title next to the surname and a birth name on a separate line. Neither belongs in the application. Enter the surname and given names only, and check them against the two lines of capitals at the bottom of the data page.
Passports issued to Germans under 24 last six years, not ten. Students and young adults regularly find that the document they received at 18 is too close to expiry for Sri Lanka's six-month rule. Check every family member's expiry date before paying for flights.
The standard German bank card works at home and across much of Europe but is not a credit card and fails on international payment pages. Use a Visa or Mastercard, and be ready to confirm the transaction in your banking app.
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 has an embassy in Berlin and a consulate general in Frankfurt am Main. German holidaymakers do not deal with either for an ETA, which is requested and issued online without an appointment or a posted passport. The missions are responsible for visa categories beyond the ETA, including employment, residence and accredited media work.
FAQs
The questions German passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. German citizens need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), commonly called the Sri Lanka Visum, and it should be approved before departure. The tourist ETA permits a stay of 30 days with two entries. Sri Lanka waives its government charge on it for German passport holders.
The Sri Lankan government charge has been waived for German tourists since 25 May 2026. The ETA still has to be applied for, and a service fee for our assistance applies. Please refer to the live prices shown on this page.
No. An identity card is not accepted. You need a Reisepass valid for at least six months from your arrival date, and the ETA is issued against that passport's number. Children need their own passport as well.
Use the spelling from the machine-readable zone of your passport: AE, OE, UE and SS. Jürgen Groß becomes JUERGEN GROSS. Do not simply drop the dots, and do not include a doctoral title or birth name.
Yes. Medical treatment, including Ayurveda and yoga programmes, is a permitted purpose on a tourist ETA. A cure of up to 30 days needs nothing further. A longer programme requires an extension from the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla.
Thirty days from first arrival, with a second entry permitted inside the same period. If you leave for the Maldives and return, you receive only the balance of the 30 days. Longer stays depend on an extension granted in Sri Lanka.
At least three to five days before the flight, and around two weeks ahead for travel in the Christmas, Easter or autumn school holidays. As the approval can be used for six months, many German travellers apply shortly after booking.
Apply with the passport you will present to immigration in Colombo, and select the nationality shown in it. The ETA is tied to that one passport number, so you cannot apply on one passport and travel on the other.
Your nationality is already set to Germany. 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.
