Citizens of Niger need an ETA before travelling to Sri Lanka. The tourist option gives 30 days with two entries. Apply online, and take care to select Niger, not neighbouring Nigeria, as your nationality.
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
Niger is one of the hottest and driest countries on earth, with the Sahara covering most of its territory and the Niger River crossing only its south-western corner. Sri Lanka is close to the opposite: small, green, humid and surrounded by sea. For a Nigerien traveller that contrast is much of the attraction, whether the trip is a holiday, a visit to friends or a course of Ayurvedic treatment.
To enter, a citizen of Niger needs an Electronic Travel Authorisation, known as the ETA and often searched for as a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. It has to be approved before the journey begins. Nothing is stamped in Niamey and no document is handed over to anyone; the approval is stored electronically against the number of your passport.
One point is particular to this nationality. Nigerien, with an e, refers to Niger; Nigerian, with an a, refers to Nigeria. Online forms, airline systems and even search results confuse the two constantly. Much of the advice on this page comes back to making sure the application is recorded under Niger, country code NE, and nothing else.
At a glance
Eligibility
Yes, without exception. Sri Lanka's ETA requirement covers all foreign nationals arriving for a short stay, and Nigerien passport holders are treated like everyone else. Apply and receive the approval before you set out from Niamey, Maradi, Zinder or Agadez.
Niger pays the standard government rate. The list of forty countries exempted from the government charge since 25 May 2026 does not include Niger, and the reduced SAARC rate and reciprocal arrangements apply only to a handful of Asian and Indian Ocean states. A service fee for our assistance is added, and the figures are given in the live prices shown on this page.
Nigerien parents travelling with young children should note that under-twelves are exempt from the government fee on a tourist ETA of up to thirty days. Large family groups are common in Niger, and every child, exempt or not, must be listed with accurate passport details.
A tourist ETA suits holidays, family visits, medical stays and cultural or sporting events. Nigerien officials, traders and academics going to Sri Lanka for meetings, seminars, religious symposiums or training of under a month should pick the business option. Employment of any kind, and reporting or NGO activity without prior clearance from Colombo, falls outside both.
Stay & validity
For a Nigerien visitor the tourist ETA means a stay of 30 days and the right to enter twice. Those two entries share one allowance: the 30 days begin at the first arrival, and a later return to Colombo is granted only the unused balance.
The approval can be used to travel at any point in the six months following its issue, subject to the conditions written on it.
Your passport of the Republic of Niger must have at least six months of validity left when you land. Look at the expiry date before paying, because a passport renewed afterwards has a different number and the authorisation does not follow it. Should 30 days prove too short, an extension has to be sought from the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla, outside Colombo.
Pricing
Live fees for Nigerien 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 Niger
Requirements
Everything Nigerien 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.
Approvals for Nigerien applicants generally arrive within a day or two. That is typical, not guaranteed, and an application recorded under the wrong country or with a mismatched name can be delayed or have to be started again and paid for a second time.
Apply no later than three to five days before leaving Niger, and a week or more ahead if you are travelling in December, January or February. Flights from Niamey to the connecting hubs do not run every day, so a missed departure caused by a late ETA can cost several days, not hours.
Niamey is on West Africa Time, one hour ahead of Greenwich, which puts Sri Lanka four and a half hours ahead of Niger throughout the year. Plan card activation around Nigerien public holidays, notably Tabaski, the end of Ramadan, 3 August and 18 December, when bank branches are shut.
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
Nobody flies nonstop from Niger to Sri Lanka. From Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the usual choices are Turkish Airlines through Istanbul, Royal Air Maroc through Casablanca with a Gulf connection, or Ethiopian Airlines through Addis Ababa and onward via the Gulf or India. Services from Niamey have been cut and restored several times in recent years, so check what is operating before you plan.
Best time to go
April and May are the months when Niamey regularly passes forty degrees and many Nigeriens who can afford to leave do so. Sri Lanka's west and south coasts are at the end of their dry season then, and the hill station of Nuwara Eliya, at nearly two thousand metres, offers nights cool enough for a blanket.
The coolest, dustiest part of the Nigerien year, December to February, matches the best beach weather between Colombo and Galle, the whale-watching season off Mirissa and the clearest days in the tea country.
Niger's rains and school holidays run from about July to September. Sri Lanka's south-west is wet in those months, while the east coast around Trincomalee, Pasikudah and Arugam Bay is dry and at its best. A Nigerien family could combine those beaches with the Esala Perahera in Kandy in July or August.
Travellers from a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim often ask about Ramadan and the two Eids. Colombo, Kandy, Galle and the eastern towns all have established Muslim communities, mosques and halal restaurants. Sri Lanka's own holidays include the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April, Vesak at the May full moon, and a Poya day each month when no alcohol is 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 Niger — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
This is the error that defines Nigerien applications. Niger and Nigeria are adjacent in drop-down menus, and autofill on a phone often picks the longer word. An ETA issued under Nigerian nationality does not match a Niger passport, and after payment the only cure is a fresh application.
Because many family names in Niger are themselves first names, a form completed in a hurry can end up with Moussa Ibrahim entered as Ibrahim Moussa. Follow the Nom and Prénoms lines of the passport, not the order used in conversation.
Cards from Nigerien banks are frequently limited to domestic or regional use until the holder asks otherwise. Confirm with your branch in Niamey that international internet payments are active before the day you apply.
With only a few departures a week from Niamey to Istanbul or Casablanca, a Nigerien traveller who applies the night before has no fallback if a manual check is needed. Finish the ETA several days earlier.
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 does not maintain an embassy in Niger, and Nigerien citizens are served by its regional missions elsewhere on the continent. None of this affects a tourist or business ETA, which is requested online and needs no visit, interview or courier. If you need a mission for another matter, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the current accreditation for Niger.
FAQs
The questions Nigerien passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. Citizens of Niger must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation, the ETA that many travellers call a Sri Lanka visa, before a short visit. It is applied for online and approved in advance of travel.
The requirement is the same, but the two are separate nationalities and must not be mixed up. A Nigerien applicant selects Niger, code NE, as both nationality and country of passport. Selecting Nigeria produces an authorisation that does not match your passport.
Up to 30 days on a tourist ETA, counted from first arrival, with a second entry allowed inside the same 30 days. A Nigerien visitor wanting longer must seek an extension from the immigration department in Battaramulla.
Yes, at the standard rate, because Niger is not among the forty countries covered by the waiver. Nigerien children under twelve are exempt from that fee on a tourist ETA. Totals including our service fee are in the live prices shown on this page.
There is no Sri Lankan embassy in Niamey, and Niger is handled from a regional mission. For an ETA the question does not arise, since Nigerien applicants complete everything online.
With at least one connection. Turkish Airlines via Istanbul is normally the shortest path from Niger, while Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca and Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa need a further change in the Gulf or India.
Payment is made by credit or debit card enabled for international online transactions. If you normally rely on a mobile wallet in Niger, ask your bank for a suitable card or have a family member pay with theirs; the payer does not need to be the traveller.
The ETA becomes unusable, because it is linked to the old passport number and cannot be transferred. A Nigerien traveller in that position must submit a new application with the new passport, and the earlier government charge is not refunded.
Your nationality is already set to Niger. 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.
