The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has issued an interim order suspending the recent visa outsourcing agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), VFS Global, and GBS Technology Services.
The court has ordered the Department of Immigration and Emigration to reinitiate the previous ETA visa system that was in place before the introduction of the new eVisa system. As a result, the new eVisa platform, which was implemented in April 2024, has now been suspended.
Please note that the GOSL has yet to facilitate a resolution or provide a timeline for when the old ETA visa system will resume. We have been verbally informed by the regulators at the Department of Immigration and Emigration (DOIE) that travelers from eligible countries* may apply for on-arrival Tourist visas for a duration of thirty (30) days. The issuance of the Business Visas are currently suspended indefinitely.
The decision to suspend the eVisa process has been taken in response to several fundamental rights petitions challenging potential procedural violations and the impact on the tourism sector. This measure is intended to ensure adherence to proper guidelines and transparency in the visa issuance process.
It should be noted that travelers who have applied for and obtained eVisas before 5:00 p.m. on the 02nd of August 2024, will not be affected and will be able to utilize their visas to travel to Sri Lanka.
We understand that this may cause inconvenience to foreign travelers. We confirm that we are closely monitoring the status of this matter and we will provide further updates on this matter as soon as possible once the information becomes available.
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