Somali passport holders need an approved ETA before travelling from Mogadishu or Hargeisa. It allows a 30-day stay with two entries at the standard government rate, and getting the three-part name right is the key step.
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 Somali citizens
Somalia is outside the 40 countries for which Sri Lanka waives the tourist ETA government charge, so the standard rate applies to Somali passports. The live prices shown on this page reflect the current cost.
Overview
Somali sailors and traders knew the monsoon routes across the Indian Ocean long before modern borders, and Sri Lanka was one of the ports those winds led to. Today the island's sizeable Muslim community, with centuries-old mosques in Colombo, Galle and Beruwala, makes it a comfortable destination for Somali visitors in matters of food and prayer.
Whether you live in Somalia or carry a Somali passport elsewhere, you need an Electronic Travel Authorisation to visit. People also call it a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa. The application is online, the approval comes by email, and it must be settled before you go to the airport.
Somali travellers face a few particular points. Names follow the pattern of own name, father's name and grandfather's name, and their Latin spellings vary. Many Somalis hold a second passport from another country and must decide which to use. And every flight involves at least one connection. This guide deals with each in turn.
At a glance
Eligibility
A Somali passport holder cannot visit Sri Lanka as a tourist without an ETA arranged beforehand. Apply in good time, since Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian, Qatar Airways and other carriers serving Aden Adde International check entry documents for the final destination before accepting a passenger.
Somalia does not belong to the group of 40 nationalities relieved of the government charge. Adults travelling on Somali passports pay the standard government rate, and our service fee for managing the application is charged as well. You will find both in the live prices on this page.
Use the tourist ETA for a holiday, a visit to relatives or friends, medical treatment, or attending cultural and sporting occasions. Somali businesspeople, including those in the import trade through Dubai, should choose the business option for meetings and negotiations. Buying and selling goods is not allowed on tourist terms.
Somali families often travel in large groups, and each child must be entered individually with their own passport. For under-12s on a tourist trip of up to 30 days the government fee is not charged, which can make a real difference to a big family's total.
Stay & validity
Somali visitors receive 30 days, counted from first arrival. Two entries are included, so a family could spend a week in the Maldives mid-trip. Coming back to Sri Lanka is only possible inside the same 30 days, and the remaining days are all that the second entry provides.
The approval can be used at any time in the six months after issue. A Somali household organising travel for after Eid can therefore apply during Ramadan without concern. Read the conditions on the approval itself, because those are binding.
Your Somali passport needs six months of validity from the arrival date. The ETA is recorded against that passport's number alone. If you renew it, lose it, or decide to travel on a different nationality's passport instead, the existing authorisation is of no use and a new one is required.
Pricing
Live fees for Somali 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 Somalia
Requirements
Everything Somali 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.
Many Somali applications are approved in a day or two. Others take longer, and it is not possible to promise a timeframe for any one case. Applying three to five days ahead is the minimum; for a Somali passport, two to three weeks gives a more comfortable margin.
Travel from Somalia rises around Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha and during the hot xagaa months of July and August, when diaspora families also visit home and then travel onward. If your trip falls from December to March, Sri Lanka's own busy season, add extra time.
Mogadishu and Hargeisa are two and a half hours behind Sri Lanka. Send the application early in the day and watch your inbox, including the spam folder, for any request to resend the passport image. A quick reply keeps the application moving.
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 direct flights connect Somalia with Sri Lanka. From Mogadishu the usual choices are Turkish Airlines through Istanbul, Qatar Airways through Doha, or Ethiopian Airlines through Addis Ababa and then India. Hargeisa travellers typically reach Dubai with flydubai or Addis Ababa with Ethiopian and continue from there to Colombo.
Best time to go
Somalia's jilaal, the long dry season from December to March, lines up with the finest weather on Sri Lanka's west and south coasts. Colombo, Bentota and Galle are sunny, and the towns of Beruwala and Galle have historic mosques within walking distance of the beach.
During the gu rains of April to June, conditions in Sri Lanka shift. The south-west turns wet from May, while the east improves. Somali travellers with flexible dates can follow the dry weather to Trincomalee or to Kattankudy and Batticaloa, areas with large Muslim populations.
The windy xagaa season in July and August is peak time for the east coast and for the Esala Perahera in Kandy. Halal restaurants are easy to find in Colombo's Pettah and Slave Island districts and across the eastern province, so dietary needs rarely limit an itinerary.
If your visit coincides with Ramadan, mosques in Colombo serve kanji, a spiced rice porridge, to break the fast. Hotels are used to arranging early meals. The Buddhist Poya holiday each full moon closes bars and liquor shops, which will not trouble most Somali guests.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Somalia — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
A Somali name may appear as Maxamed, Mohamed or Mohamud, Cali or Ali, Xasan or Hassan, depending on who wrote it down. The ETA has to match the passport letter for letter. Make sure the airline ticket uses the identical spelling too.
Large numbers of Somalis also hold British, American, Canadian, Swedish or other passports. The ETA belongs to one passport number and one nationality. Decide which document you will present at check-in and in Colombo, apply with that one, and do not switch afterwards.
Somalis are widely known by a naanays or by lineage beyond the grandfather's name. None of that belongs on the form unless it is printed in the passport. Enter the three official names only.
Daily life in Somalia runs on mobile money, and many people have never needed a bank card. The application calls for a credit or debit card enabled for international online payments. Arrange one before you start, so the form is not left half finished.
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 mission in Mogadishu; its embassy in Addis Ababa is accredited to Somalia. Somali tourists are not required to deal with it, since the ETA is applied for online. Purposes that the ETA excludes, such as media work or long stays, are the kind of matter to raise with the embassy.
FAQs
The questions Somali passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes, Somali citizens need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which many people call a Sri Lanka visa, before travelling. It is issued online against the Somali passport and gives 30 days as a tourist with two entries.
Yes. Somali nationals use the same online ETA process as other foreign visitors. Approval is not guaranteed for any applicant, so apply early and make sure every detail matches the Somali passport.
Apply with the passport you will actually travel on. The government charge is waived for United Kingdom passports but not for Somali ones, and an ETA cannot be transferred from one passport to the other.
Copy the division shown on the passport. Usually your own and your father's name are given names and your grandfather's name is the surname, but follow what your Somali passport prints, including its spelling.
Qatar Airways through Doha is generally the shortest. Turkish Airlines via Istanbul and Ethiopian via Addis Ababa and India are alternatives. From Somalia the journey takes 11 to 18 hours.
Yes. Sri Lanka has a long-established Muslim community, and halal restaurants and mosques are common in Colombo, Kandy, Galle and the east coast. Somali visitors seldom have difficulty.
Often a day or two, sometimes longer. Nothing is promised, so Somali travellers should allow two to three weeks where they can and never fewer than three to five days.
Somali children under 12 are not charged the government fee for a tourist ETA of up to 30 days, although they must still be included. Older children and adults pay the standard rate shown in the live prices.
Your nationality is already set to Somalia. 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.
