Palestinian passport holders can apply online for a Sri Lanka ETA before travelling, most often through Amman or from a home in the Gulf. It permits a 30-day stay with two entries, and the standard government rate applies.
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 Palestinian passport holders
Palestinian passports are processed at the standard rate, as they are not part of Sri Lanka's waiver of the tourist ETA government charge. The live prices shown on this page give the amount payable.
Overview
For holders of a Palestinian passport, the list of countries that can be visited without a consular application is short, which is one reason Sri Lanka draws steady interest. Its entry permission is issued online, the island is a single connection from Amman or a direct flight from the Gulf cities where many Palestinians live, and it offers beaches, mountains and wildlife in a compact trip.
The permission is an Electronic Travel Authorisation, though you will see it described as a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa on most Arabic travel sites. It must be approved before you travel. Nothing has to be submitted in person, which matters when reaching any embassy would itself mean a journey.
Palestinian passports are not among the 40 nationalities whose government charge was waived in May 2026, so the standard rate applies. What follows is practical guidance for this passport specifically: choosing between documents if you hold more than one, entering your name consistently, timing the trip around the crossing to Jordan, and the flights onward to Colombo.
At a glance
Eligibility
Yes. Anyone travelling on a Palestinian passport needs an approved ETA for a short visit to Sri Lanka. The requirement is the same whether you live in Ramallah, Nablus or Hebron, or hold the passport while residing in Jordan, the Gulf or elsewhere.
Holidays, sightseeing, visits to friends and relatives, medical treatment and Ayurveda, yoga retreats, and sporting or cultural events all come under the tourist ETA. If you are travelling for business meetings, a conference, a workshop or a short training course, the business option is the one to select.
Work is not permitted on a tourist ETA, whether paid, voluntary or self-employed. Journalism, political activity and work for non-governmental organisations need approval from the Sri Lankan government before travel and are not available online.
Children must be included in the application individually. For a child under 12 on a tourist stay of up to 30 days, Sri Lanka does not charge its government fee. A child's passport has to satisfy the same six-month validity requirement as an adult's.
Stay & validity
The tourist ETA allows a stay of 30 days beginning on the day you first arrive, and it is good for two entries. Both must fall in that 30-day period, and on the second you are given only the time left over.
Once approved, the ETA can be used for a first arrival for six months. Since travel plans from the West Bank sometimes have to move by a day or two, that flexibility is welcome: a change of flight date does not require a new authorisation provided the passport is the same.
Palestinian passports are issued for five years, and you need six months remaining on arrival in Sri Lanka. Check the date early, renew if necessary, and apply only with the new passport's number, because an ETA cannot be moved from one passport to another. Extensions beyond 30 days are dealt with by the Department of Immigration and Emigration at Battaramulla, near Colombo.
Pricing
Live fees for Palestinian 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 Palestine
Requirements
Everything Palestinian 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.
Decisions on applications from Palestinian passport holders typically come back within one or two days. We check the form against the passport image before it is submitted and query anything inconsistent with you first. Timing can vary and is not guaranteed.
The general advice is to apply at least three to five days before departure. Travellers leaving from the West Bank should count back from the day they intend to cross to Jordan, not from the flight, since the crossing usually comes a day earlier. Sri Lanka is three and a half hours ahead in winter and two and a half in summer.
Apply earlier around Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha and in the summer months of June to August, when both the bridge and the flights from Amman are at their busiest. As the approval remains valid for six months, there is nothing to lose by securing it as soon as your passport details are settled.
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 flights operate directly between Palestine and Sri Lanka. West Bank residents normally travel overland to Jordan via the King Hussein Bridge and fly from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, connecting in the Gulf for Bandaranaike International Airport near Colombo. Crossing hours are limited and can change, so many travellers spend the night before the flight in Amman. Palestinian passport holders living in the Gulf simply take a nonstop flight.
Best time to go
Winter and early spring, from December through March, bring dry weather to Sri Lanka's west and south coasts and to the hill country. It is a pleasant escape from the cold, wet months in the hills around Ramallah and Hebron, with sea temperatures warm enough for swimming every day at Mirissa or Hikkaduwa.
School summer holidays run from June to August, when the south-west of Sri Lanka is rainy and the east coast is at its best. Families can base themselves at Trincomalee or Pasikudah for the beach and add Sigiriya and the cave temples at Dambulla on the way.
Eid holidays are the other main travel windows, and as they move through the calendar it is worth matching them to the right coast: south and west between December and April, east between May and September. Colombo, Kandy and the eastern towns have long-standing Muslim communities, so halal meals and prayer facilities are readily available.
During October and November the weather is mixed across the island, with showers between sunny spells. That is a reasonable time for cities and ruins and a quieter one for beaches. Poya days, at each full moon, are public holidays, and the Sinhala and Tamil New Year occupies the middle of April.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Palestine — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Some travellers hold a Jordanian passport alongside the Palestinian one, or a passport from a country of residence. Jordan is not on the waiver list either, so there is no saving in switching between those two, and the ETA only works with the passport whose number it carries. Choose one and use it at every checkpoint and desk.
A Palestinian passport and a refugee travel document issued by another state are not the same thing, and they are recorded differently. Enter the nationality and document details exactly as they appear on what you hold. If you are unsure how yours should be described, ask us before paying.
The passport prints the given name, father's name, grandfather's name and family name. Airline sites and the application form should show all of them as printed.
The ETA can be perfectly in order and the flight still missed because of a slow day at the bridge. Build the journey so that the crossing and the flight are not on the same tight timetable, and keep the approval email saved offline on your phone.
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 Representative Office in Ramallah. Applicants for a tourist ETA do not need to visit or write to it, as the authorisation is issued online and sent by email. The office is the point of contact for matters that the ETA does not cover.
FAQs
The questions Palestinian passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes, Palestinians need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to visit Sri Lanka, the online approval that is commonly called a Sri Lanka visa. It must be granted before travel and allows a 30-day tourist stay with two entries. Palestinian passports are charged the standard government rate.
Yes. The ETA is required of all foreign nationals and can be applied for online with a Palestinian passport. Enter the details from the data page as printed and make sure the passport is valid for six months from your arrival date.
Either can be used, and both are processed at the standard rate. What matters is consistency: apply with the passport you will show at check-in in Amman and on arrival in Colombo, and do not switch between them during the trip.
The usual route is overland to Amman via the King Hussein Bridge, then a flight to Doha, Dubai or Abu Dhabi with a connection to Colombo. Flying time from Amman is about 9 to 12 hours including the stop.
Thirty days from the first arrival on a tourist ETA, with two entries allowed during that period. A longer stay needs an extension approved by the Department of Immigration and Emigration before the initial period runs out.
At least three to five days before you set out, counting from the day you cross to Jordan if you are leaving from the West Bank. Most approvals arrive in a day or two, without any guarantee. Apply earlier before Eid and in summer.
No. The ETA relates only to entry into Sri Lanka. Any permission needed to enter Jordan or to transit a Gulf airport is a separate matter, and you should confirm the rules for your passport with the airline or the authorities concerned.
No. An approved ETA allows you to travel to Sri Lanka, and admission is decided by the immigration officer when you arrive. Have your return ticket, accommodation details and proof of funds ready to show.
Your nationality is already set to Palestine. 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.
