North Korean passport holders need an ETA approved in advance of any short visit to Sri Lanka. It covers 30 days and two entries at the standard government rate, with travel normally routed through Beijing.
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 North Korean citizens
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is outside Sri Lanka's 40-country waiver, so the standard government rate applies to adult applicants. Children under 12 are not charged the government fee. See the live prices shown on this page.
Overview
Very few journeys to Sri Lanka begin with a passport of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and most that do are made by people already living or working outside the peninsula: staff posted abroad, students, sports delegations and family members accompanying them. This page sets out the entry requirement for that small group in practical terms.
Sri Lanka applies one rule to all foreign nationals: a short visit needs an Electronic Travel Authorisation obtained before arrival. You may see it described as a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. It is requested online in English and recorded against the number of the passport you will carry.
No fee concession applies to this nationality. The DPRK is not among the 40 countries in the government-charge waiver and is not a SAARC member, so adults pay the standard rate, while children under 12 are not charged the government fee. Our service fee is added to that; the live prices shown on this page give the breakdown.
At a glance
Eligibility
Yes. A North Korean citizen must hold an approved ETA before setting out, whichever country the journey starts from. Airline staff at the departure and transfer airports are likely to ask for it, so approval needs to be in hand before the first flight.
For a private visit the tourist ETA is the right choice. It covers sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives, medical treatment including Ayurveda, and participation in sporting competitions or cultural performances, the last two being relevant to athletes and performing troupes travelling as visitors.
Trade delegations, conference participants and people attending workshops, seminars or training of less than a month need the business option. Work of any kind, paid or unpaid, is not permitted on an ETA, and media assignments, political activity and NGO work require prior government approval that the online system does not provide.
A connection through Colombo lasting no more than two days falls under the transit ETA, which has no government charge and depends on documentary proof of onward travel. This page deals with ordinary passports only; holders of official or diplomatic passports should take guidance through their own ministry.
Stay & validity
The tourist ETA allows 30 days in Sri Lanka, starting from the first arrival, and may be used for two entries. Should you leave for India or the Maldives and come back, the second stay is limited to the days still unused from the original 30.
After issue, the approval can be used to travel at any point in the following six months. That window is helpful where exit formalities or delegation schedules take time to confirm. The conditions printed on the approval itself are the ones that count.
Six months of passport validity, measured from the day of arrival in Colombo, is required. A passport issued for a short term reaches that threshold quickly, so read the expiry date with care before applying and renew first if the margin is thin. Any stay beyond 30 days needs an extension from the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla.
Pricing
Live fees for North Korean 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 North Korea
Requirements
Everything North Korean 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 ETA applications are answered in a day or two, but an applicant from a nationality that Sri Lanka sees rarely should not count on the quickest outcome. Apply as early as the travel dates allow, and no later than a week before departure.
Allow for the length of the journey as well. Flights out of Pyongyang do not run every day, so a delayed approval can mean waiting for the next departure, not the next morning. Having the ETA settled before tickets are issued avoids that.
Pyongyang time is three and a half hours ahead of Sri Lanka. If the application is being managed by an office or organiser on your behalf, make sure they pass on any request for information straight away and send you the approval to print.
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
There is no direct air link between the DPRK and Sri Lanka. The usual pattern is to fly from Pyongyang to Beijing, then continue to Colombo with a further change in Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. Transit rules of the countries you pass through are separate from the Sri Lankan ETA and need checking on their own.
Best time to go
January in Pyongyang is severe, with temperatures well below freezing, while Colombo stays hot and humid. December to March is the best period for Sri Lanka's west and south coasts and for the hill country, and the contrast with a Korean winter could hardly be greater. Pack light clothing but keep a layer for Nuwara Eliya, where nights are cool.
The Korean summer, hot and wet in July and August, matches the south-west monsoon on the Colombo side of the island. Visitors at that time of year find better conditions on the east coast, around Trincomalee and Pasikudah, and in the drier north-central plains of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.
Sporting and cultural fixtures, not seasons, decide many of these trips. If you are travelling for a competition or performance, look at the Sri Lankan calendar anyway: the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April closes offices for several days, and Vesak at the May full moon does the same.
Poya days occur every month at the full moon and are public holidays on which alcohol is not sold. Banks and government counters shut, which matters if you need to deal with the immigration department during your stay. Heat is constant on the coast, so plan outdoor visits for early morning.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from North Korea — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Country lists place the two Korean states next to each other under similar names. Choosing the Republic of Korea for a DPRK passport produces an approval that does not correspond to the document and may attach the wrong fee terms. Check the full country name before continuing.
DPRK passports use spellings that differ from those common in the south, RI where others write Lee, PAK for Park, JONG for Jung. Helpful agents sometimes change them to the familiar form. Any change breaks the match with the passport.
The approval and any questions arrive by email only. Where an organiser's address is used, agree who checks it daily and how the approval reaches the traveller before departure.
A Sri Lankan ETA says nothing about entering or changing planes in China, Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia. Confirm what each transfer point requires of your passport, particularly if the connection means collecting baggage or changing airports.
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 no resident embassy in Pyongyang; its embassy in Beijing is accredited to the DPRK. An ordinary tourist ETA does not involve the embassy, though it is the point of contact for categories that need prior approval.
FAQs
The questions North Korean passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. North Korean citizens need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, the document often referred to as a Sri Lanka visa, approved before arrival. The tourist ETA allows a stay of 30 days with two entries.
Yes. Sri Lanka requires the ETA of all foreign nationals, and the application is made online in English with passport details, an email address and a card payment. Approval is not guaranteed for any applicant.
The standard government rate applies, since the DPRK is not covered by the 40-country waiver or the SAARC rate. Under-12s are not charged the government fee. The live prices shown on this page give the current amounts, service fee included.
By way of Beijing in almost every case, followed by a second connection in Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. Allow twenty hours or more for the full journey and check transit rules for each stop.
Select the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, using the full name shown on the form. The Republic of Korea is a separate entry for South Korean passports and must not be chosen.
Taking part in sporting competitions and cultural performances is within the tourist ETA. Paid employment is not, and business conferences or training need the business option, so match the type to the actual activity.
No. The ETA is issued online and there is no Sri Lankan embassy in Pyongyang in any case; the embassy in Beijing covers the DPRK for other matters.
The ETA is fixed to the passport number used in the application. A replacement passport has a new number, so a new application is required and government charges already paid are not refunded or transferred.
Your nationality is already set to North Korea. 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.
