Holders of a Hong Kong SAR passport need an ETA approved before the flight to Colombo. It allows a 30-day visit with two entries, and the standard government rate applies to this 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
Important for Hong Kong passport holders
The Hong Kong SAR passport is not named in Sri Lanka's 40-country waiver of the tourist ETA government charge, so this page treats it at the standard rate. Children under 12 are not charged the government fee. See the live prices shown on this page.
Overview
A nonstop Cathay Pacific flight has put Sri Lanka within easy reach of Hong Kong, close enough for a long weekend in Galle and rewarding enough for a fortnight of temples, tea estates and safari. Travellers from the city are typically short on leave and precise about plans, which makes sorting the entry paperwork early worthwhile.
That paperwork is the Electronic Travel Authorisation. Sri Lanka requires one from every foreign national, and local travel sites usually list it as the Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. This page is written for people travelling on a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport, which is a different document from a mainland Chinese passport and is entered as such.
The distinction matters for cost. Sri Lanka's waiver of the government charge names 40 countries, and the HKSAR passport is not listed among them, so we do not describe the waiver as applying to it. Adults should expect the standard rate plus our service fee, both set out in the live prices shown on this page.
At a glance
Eligibility
Yes. An HKSAR passport gives visa-free access to a long list of destinations, but Sri Lanka asks for something in advance: an ETA has to be approved before you check in at Chek Lap Kok.
Holidays, visits to friends and family, wellness stays built around Ayurveda or yoga, and trips to watch or play in sporting events, rugby and cricket tours included, belong on the tourist ETA. Every traveller is entered individually, so a party that includes grandparents or a domestic helper should check each person's passport type instead of assuming they match.
Hong Kong's trading, shipping and finance links with Colombo mean a fair share of trips are commercial. Meetings, negotiations, conferences, workshops and training of less than a month require the business option. Journalism needs government approval in advance and cannot be arranged through the online ETA.
The city's residents carry an unusual variety of travel documents. If you will travel on a British National (Overseas) passport, or on a Canadian, Australian or other foreign passport, your application follows that document's nationality and its own terms, not the ones described here. Apply with the passport you will actually present in Colombo.
Stay & validity
On an HKSAR passport the tourist ETA allows 30 days from first arrival and two entries. Residents who pair Sri Lanka with the Maldives over Christmas or Easter can leave and return once, receiving on the second arrival whatever remains of the 30 days.
The approval is valid for travel for six months from the date of issue, so it can be arranged as soon as annual leave is signed off. Should the wording on your approval differ from this outline, the approval governs.
HKSAR passports last ten years for adults and five for children under 16, and Sri Lanka's rule is six months' validity from the date of arrival. Frequent travellers who fill passports quickly and replace them early should remember that the ETA does not follow them to the new book. A longer stay requires an extension granted by the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla.
Pricing
Live fees for Hong Kong SAR 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 Hong Kong
Requirements
Everything Hong Kong SAR 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.
Applications on Hong Kong passports are mostly settled within a day or two. That is a pattern, not a promise, and the minimum sensible lead time is three to five days before the flight.
Hong Kong's travel peaks are compressed into public-holiday clusters: Lunar New Year, the four-day Easter break, and the run from Christmas to New Year, the last of which is also high season in Sri Lanka. Seats on the nonstop sell out for those dates, and the ETA should be dealt with at least ten days in advance.
Colombo is two and a half hours behind Hong Kong throughout the year. Anything sent from Sri Lanka in the morning reaches you around lunchtime, and a prompt answer usually resolves a query the same working day.
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
Cathay Pacific flies nonstop between Hong Kong and Colombo in about five and a half hours, making this one of the simplest journeys to Sri Lanka from East Asia. Travellers wanting different timings can route through Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur with a single change. From Macau and the Greater Bay Area cities, most passengers cross to Hong Kong International to pick up the direct service.
Best time to go
Christmas and Lunar New Year are when most Hong Kong residents can string enough days together, and both fall inside the December-to-March season for Sri Lanka's south-west coast and hill country. Expect company: Galle Fort, Weligama and the Ella trains are at their busiest, and villas with staff are booked months ahead.
Easter and the Ching Ming holiday in early April still catch good weather in the south and the highlands. Temperatures in the Cultural Triangle are high by then, so climb Sigiriya at opening time and keep afternoons for the pool.
Summer school holidays coincide with typhoon signals at home and the south-west monsoon in Colombo. Families who travel in July and August do best on the east coast, at Pasikudah or Trincomalee, or by timing a visit to Kandy for the Esala Perahera.
The October break around National Day and Chung Yeung brings inter-monsoon showers across Sri Lanka, usually brief and in the afternoon. Buddha's Birthday in May lines up with Vesak, when the island is lit with lanterns and, as on every Poya day, alcohol is not sold.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Hong Kong — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Hong Kong residents quote their identity card number so often that it goes into forms by reflex. The ETA is linked to the passport number alone, and an approval issued against an HKID number cannot be matched at the border.
HKSAR, mainland Chinese and BN(O) passports are three distinct documents with different terms. Select the one corresponding to the passport in your hand, because the fee treatment described for one must not be assumed for another.
Many people are known as David or Karen at work while the passport carries only the romanised Chinese name. Enter what is printed. If the English name is on the passport, include it in the same order.
Households with two or three passports per person sometimes apply with whichever is nearest. Decide first which document you will carry, check its validity, and use it for the ETA, the air ticket and the arrival desk alike.
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 maintains a consulate general in Hong Kong, with its embassy in Beijing. Neither is involved in a tourist ETA for an HKSAR passport holder, which is applied for and delivered online; the consulate deals with consular services and visa categories outside the ETA system.
FAQs
The questions Hong Kong SAR passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. HKSAR passport holders need an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation, commonly called a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa, before travelling. For tourism it permits a 30-day stay and two entries.
The published waiver lists 40 countries and does not name the Hong Kong SAR passport, so we treat it at the standard government rate. Children under 12 are exempt from the government fee. Check the live prices shown on this page.
Apply with the one you will travel on, and use it for the whole trip. The two are separate documents with separate nationality entries, and an ETA issued on one cannot be used with the other.
They are separate passports and are entered separately in the application. Terms that apply to mainland Chinese passports should not be assumed for an HKSAR passport, so choose the entry that matches your own document.
The nonstop Cathay Pacific service takes about five and a half hours. One-stop alternatives via Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur generally take eight to ten hours including the transfer.
No. The application is based entirely on a passport, and the number requested is the passport number. Your Hong Kong identity card is not a travel document for Sri Lanka.
Ten days or more is a comfortable margin for those peak periods. Approvals usually arrive in a day or two, but an early application leaves time to fix a problem while flights are full.
No. Conferences, workshops, seminars and business meetings need the business option. Select it when you begin the application so that the authorisation matches what you will actually be doing.
Your nationality is already set to Hong Kong. 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.
