Palauans need an ETA before flying to Sri Lanka by way of Taipei, Manila or Guam. The tourist authorisation gives 30 days and two entries, and the application is completed online in one sitting.
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
Palauans know what it is to live in a place other people cross the world to see. Sri Lanka offers the reverse experience: ruined royal cities, a sacred tooth relic, leopards and wild elephants, and hill stations planted with tea, all on an island that could swallow Babeldaob many times over. A small number of Palauans reach it each year by way of Taipei or Manila.
The entry formality is called an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Travel forums and booking sites often label it a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa, and for a Palauan holidaymaker those words point to the same requirement: an online approval obtained before departure, valid for a visit of up to 30 days.
Palau's passport opens a good many borders without advance paperwork, so the need to apply ahead can come as a surprise. This guide explains what Sri Lanka expects from Palauan passport holders, where the common slips occur, and how to time the application around flights out of Koror.
At a glance
Eligibility
There is no visa-free arrangement between Palau and Sri Lanka. Every Palauan visitor, from a retiree on a tour to a student backpacking after graduation, needs an approved ETA linked to their passport before flying. Without it, the airline at your last connecting airport can decline to issue the Colombo boarding pass.
On cost, Palau falls under the standard government rate. Sri Lanka's waiver of that charge is limited to forty listed countries, and although the United States is among them, the Freely Associated States are not. A service fee for our assistance is payable as well, and the live prices shown on this page give the full picture for a Palauan passport.
That distinction matters to Palauans living in Guam, Hawaii or the mainland. Residence in the United States under the Compact does not make you a US national for Sri Lankan purposes; the passport you travel on decides the category. Only a Palauan who also holds a US passport, and travels on it, would apply under the American heading.
Most Palauan trips are plainly tourism: sightseeing, visiting friends, a yoga or Ayurveda programme, a sports event. If you are going to a conference on oceans or conservation, a workshop, or a short training course, choose the business option, because those activities are outside the tourist conditions even when no money changes hands.
Stay & validity
Thirty days is the stay a Palauan tourist is given, starting when you first clear immigration. The approval may be used at any time within six months of being issued, so you can secure it as soon as your dates are firm.
Because it permits two entries, the ETA suits an itinerary that leaves Sri Lanka briefly, for instance to dive in the Maldives for comparison with home, and then returns. Bear in mind that the second admission is for the remainder of the 30 days only, never a new month.
If you fall for the place and want to stay on, apply to the Department of Immigration and Emigration at its Battaramulla head office near Colombo while your current stay is still valid. Do not let the date endorsed in your passport pass before you have asked.
Pricing
Live fees for Palauan 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 Palau
Requirements
Everything Palauan 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.
Palauan applications are normally approved inside a day or two, although that is an observation and not a promise. Files that take longer usually involve a name that does not match the passport image or a photograph too dark to read.
Three to five days before departure is the minimum to allow, and more is wise when travelling around Christmas, the summer school break or Sri Lanka's own peak between December and March. Flights between Koror and its Asian gateways do not run every day, so a delayed approval can mean rebooking several sectors at once.
Palau is three and a half hours ahead of Sri Lanka throughout the year. An application submitted on a Koror morning is waiting at the start of the Colombo working day, which makes same-day or next-day contact easier than it is from most Pacific countries.
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
No airline flies between Palau and Sri Lanka, and the practical routes run through East and South-East Asia. China Airlines connects Koror with Taipei, from where Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur all have onward flights to Colombo. United links Koror with Manila and Guam, and Manila offers frequent connections to the same three hubs. Whichever way you go, expect two changes of aircraft.
Best time to go
Palau's schools follow an American-style year, with a long break from June into early August. Those months are monsoon season in Colombo and along the southern beaches, so point a summer trip at the east: Trincomalee, Pasikudah and the surf at Arugam Bay are in season from May to September.
The Christmas and New Year break suits the opposite coast. Between December and March the south-west is dry, whales pass Mirissa, and the hill country around Ella and Nuwara Eliya has its clearest skies. Palauans who dive at home tend to be more impressed by what is on land, so leave room for Yala or Wilpattu.
Constitution Day on 9 July and Independence Day on 1 October both create long weekends, but neither is long enough for a journey of this length on its own. Combine one with annual leave. A July visit may bring the bonus of the Kandy Esala Perahera, which falls in July or August.
Jet lag is mild, since the clocks differ by only three and a half hours. The adjustment that takes longer is to distance and traffic, because road journeys in Sri Lanka are slow for the kilometres covered. Note too that on monthly Poya days alcohol is not sold, a rule that surprises visitors used to an evening drink in Koror.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Palau — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Palauans who have lived for years in Guam or the United States sometimes select the United States as their nationality. Nationality on the application must be the one in the passport you will hand over. A Palauan passport means Palau, with the standard charge, however long you have lived elsewhere.
Names with doubled vowels, an initial Ng or the Palauan ch are routinely altered by phones and browsers. One changed letter is enough to break the match with your passport. Turn off autocorrect, type slowly, and read the review screen aloud against the photo page.
Self-made itineraries through Taipei or Manila often leave only a couple of hours between separate tickets. If the first flight runs late, the airline for the Colombo sector owes you nothing. Leave a generous gap or stay overnight, and keep the ETA approval ready to show.
Palauan officials and conservation staff are frequent guests at regional environmental meetings. Attending one in Colombo is a business purpose even if a few days of sightseeing follow. Apply under the business option for such a trip so that the stated purpose matches what you do.
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 keep an embassy or consulate in Palau. The embassies in Manila and Tokyo are the nearest resident Sri Lankan missions along the routes Palauans actually fly, and we list them for that reason only. You will not need either for a tourist ETA, which is requested and delivered online without an interview.
FAQs
The questions Palauan passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. Palauans need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which serves as Sri Lanka's short-stay visa and has to be approved before the trip. A Palauan tourist is allowed 30 days and may enter twice. You apply online, and the approval is stored against your Palauan passport number.
No. The waiver of Sri Lanka's government charge is granted by nationality, and Palau is not on the list of forty even though the United States is. Palauan passport holders pay the standard government rate plus our service fee, apart from children under 12 on tourist stays of up to 30 days.
You apply as a Palauan. Sri Lanka's categories depend on the passport, not on where you live or work. Enter Palau as your nationality and use your Palauan passport details. Only if you hold and travel on a US passport would the application be made under United States nationality.
Through Asia, with two connections in most cases. The common routings are Koror to Taipei and then via Singapore or Bangkok, or Koror to Manila and then via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Total travelling time is usually somewhere between sixteen hours and a full day.
At least three to five days before flying, and earlier for travel in December to March or over the summer break. Since the approval remains valid for travel for six months, applying as soon as your flights are booked costs nothing extra and removes the risk of a late decision.
Yes. Medical treatment, including Ayurveda and yoga, is among the purposes a tourist ETA covers, alongside ordinary sightseeing. If the programme will last longer than 30 days you would need an extension from the Department of Immigration and Emigration once you are in the country.
The passport you applied with, first of all. Officers may also ask Palauan visitors for a return or onward ticket and for proof that they can fund the stay, so have a booking confirmation and a recent bank or card statement accessible offline.
Yes, once. A tourist ETA is good for two entries, provided both fall inside the 30 days that began with your first arrival. On your return you receive the days that are left, so a week in the Maldives is a week off your Sri Lankan allowance.
Your nationality is already set to Palau. 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.
