Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago must hold an ETA before boarding for Colombo. The tourist version covers 30 days and two entries, whether you are going for the Ramayana sites, a Test series or the tea hills.
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
Trinidad and Tobago sends only a small number of visitors to Sri Lanka, but those who go tend to have a strong reason. For Hindu families the island is the Lanka of the Ramayana, a story told every year at Ramleela grounds from Felicity to Couva. For cricket followers it is the home of Galle and of spin bowling at its most difficult.
Whatever the motive, the first requirement is an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Trinbagonians searching for a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa are looking for the same thing: an online permission linked to the passport number and approved before departure. There is no paper sticker and no need to send your passport out of the country.
The journey from Piarco is long and involves two or three airlines, so this guide covers the practical side as well: how local surnames should be spelled, realistic routings and the best months to go.
At a glance
Eligibility
Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago do need an ETA, and Commonwealth membership makes no difference. The twin-island republic is not on Sri Lanka's waiver list, which means the standard government rate applies to adults. You will see it, together with our service fee, in the live prices shown on this page.
Pilgrimage is treated as tourism. A Trinidadian family visiting Seetha Amman temple near Nuwara Eliya, Munneswaram near Chilaw or Koneswaram in Trincomalee travels on the tourist ETA, as does anyone going for sightseeing, a wedding, an Ayurveda programme or a cricket tour. Organised religious events and symposiums, by contrast, come under the business option, so a pundit or imam invited to speak at one should choose that instead.
Energy-sector professionals from Point Lisas or Port of Spain who are sent to Colombo for meetings, negotiations or a short course also need the business option. The tourist authorisation does not stretch to trade, employment or self-employment.
Every child from Trinidad and Tobago must be included in the application, though under-twelves are spared the government fee on a tourist ETA of up to 30 days.
Stay & validity
The tourist ETA gives a Trinidad and Tobago national 30 days in Sri Lanka from first arrival. Organised Ramayana circuits usually run for ten to fourteen days and an independent loop of the island takes about three weeks, so the allowance is generous for nearly every Trinbagonian itinerary.
Two entries are permitted within that one period. Many Trinidadians pair Sri Lanka with India, flying from Colombo to Chennai or Delhi to visit ancestral districts or other pilgrimage towns, and then return to Colombo for the flight home. The second arrival is admitted for the balance of the 30 days only, so count the days spent in India against the total.
Once approved, a Trinbagonian has six months in which to make the trip. Should you want more time than the stamp allows, the request goes to the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla, outside Colombo, and it has to be made before your permitted stay ends.
Pricing
Live fees for Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago
Requirements
Everything Trinidad and Tobago 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.
A Trinidad and Tobago application normally comes back within a day or two. That cannot be guaranteed, and the nine-and-a-half-hour difference means a query sent from Colombo in the morning may sit unread through the Trinidadian night, so leave a margin of at least three to five days.
Groups should move earlier. When a mandir or a cricket club arranges travel for twenty or thirty people, one mistyped passport number can hold back a member while everyone else is cleared. Collect clear photographs of each bio-data page and apply two or three weeks ahead so that any correction can be dealt with calmly.
Carnival and Divali both affect timing. Trinidadians who escape the island at Carnival travel in February or early March, the height of the Sri Lankan season, when applications are heavy. Those who wait until after Divali arrive in the inter-monsoon weeks and face less pressure.
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
Piarco International has no service to South Asia, so Trinbagonians reach Colombo in two or three flights. The most common pattern is Caribbean Airlines to New York, Miami or Toronto followed by a Gulf carrier through Doha or Dubai. Travellers who prefer Europe can cross the Atlantic to London and pick up SriLankan Airlines there.
Best time to go
Trinidad and Tobago has a dry season from January to May and a wet season for the rest of the year, and Sri Lanka's south-west follows a broadly similar rhythm in the early months. January to March is the classic window for Colombo, Galle, the southern beaches and the hill country, and it is also when the Ramayana sites around Nuwara Eliya are at their clearest.
The July and August school vacation is the easiest time for families to travel, and it favours the other side of the island. Trincomalee, where Koneswaram temple stands on its rock above the sea, is dry and bright then. Kandy's Esala Perahera falls in the same weeks, and surfers in the group can head for Arugam Bay.
Those planning around the national calendar have options. Indian Arrival Day on 30 May and the Corpus Christi and Labour Day holidays in June create a cluster of days off just as the east coast season opens. Independence Day on 31 August and Republic Day on 24 September sit at the tail of that season.
Trinidad and Tobago stays on UTC-4 throughout the year and Sri Lanka on UTC+5:30, a constant nine and a half hours apart. Hindu visitors should also note that every full moon is a Poya day in Sri Lanka, a public holiday on which alcohol is not sold and many shops close.
Avoid these
Problems are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the ones that come up most often on applications from Trinidad and Tobago — worth a minute now rather than a new application later.
Transliterated Indian and Arabic names in Trinidad vary between cousins, let alone between documents. Ramnarine and Ramnarain, or Ali and Alli, are not interchangeable on the form. Read the spelling off the passport, character by character.
Visiting a temple is tourism, but being a delegate or speaker at an organised religious event or symposium is listed under business purposes. Trinidadian clergy and satsangh leaders are occasionally caught by this distinction.
A side trip to Chennai or Varanasi in the middle of the holiday does not pause the Sri Lankan allowance. Trinbagonians who spend two weeks in India and return expecting another month in Colombo find only a few days remain.
Tour leaders sometimes wait until every deposit is paid before applying for anyone. With a large party from Chaguanas or San Fernando, that leaves no time to correct a single wrong digit before the flight to New York.
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 a mission in Port of Spain; its ambassador in Washington serves as non-resident High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago. None of this affects a tourist ETA, which Trinbagonians obtain online without an appointment, an interview or handing over a passport.
FAQs
The questions Trinidad and Tobago passport holders ask most often about travelling to Sri Lanka.
Yes. Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which is what people usually mean by a Sri Lanka visa or e-visa, and it should be approved before travel. For a Trinbagonian tourist it covers 30 days and two entries. Final admission is decided by the officer on arrival.
Yes. Visiting temples and places linked to the Ramayana, such as Seetha Amman, Munneswaram and Koneswaram, is ordinary sightseeing and is covered. Only organised religious events and symposiums where you are a participant or speaker fall under the business option.
No. Trinidad and Tobago is not one of the countries whose nationals have the government charge waived, so the standard rate applies. Under-twelves are not charged the government fee for a tourist visit of up to 30 days. Trinbagonians will find current amounts in the live prices shown on this page.
Most travellers fly from Piarco to New York, Miami or Toronto and continue with a Gulf airline through Doha or Dubai. Another option is via London with SriLankan Airlines onward.
You can, since a Trinbagonian's tourist ETA is double entry. The return must happen within 30 days of your first arrival in Sri Lanka, and you will be given only the unused days. India has its own entry requirements, which are separate.
Not on that passport. Sri Lanka expects six months of validity from the day you arrive, so renew with the Immigration Division first and apply with the new number. An authorisation issued against the old booklet would not carry over.
Yes, every child needs to be included, with details taken from the child's own passport. The government fee is not charged for children under twelve on a tourist stay of up to 30 days, but the authorisation itself is still mandatory.
No. Trinidad and Tobago is covered by the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington, whose head of mission is the non-resident High Commissioner. Tourists do not need to deal with it, since the ETA is applied for and issued electronically.
Your nationality is already set to Trinidad and Tobago. 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.
