The Sri Lankan government has proposed to issue six-month visas for tourists instead of the current one-month visas when the country re-opens its international airports for travelers next year, local media reported here Monday.
Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga was quoted by media reports as saying that Sri Lanka was in the process of discussing a new set of guidelines which had been prepared by the COVID-19 Clinical Management Expert Committee of the Ministry of Health and Sri Lanka Tourism.
According to these guidelines, a minimum stay of 14 days in Sri Lanka will be made mandatory while the online visa process was mandatory for all international tourists via the online visa application system - Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).
According to the guidelines, only visitors with pre-booked and pre-paid booking for a Level 1 hotel for the first seven days and thereafter the next seven days in a Level 1 or 2 hotel certified as safe and secure accommodation will be granted visas.
In addition to the visa fee, the cost for three PCR and or antigen tests will be levied from each traveler. The antigen and or PCR test will be conducted on arrival and there will be another test five to seven days after arrival, which is mandatory.
If deemed necessary by health officials, an additional test is to be conducted 10 to 14 days after arrival.
It is mandatory for all passengers who are arriving as tourists to have medical insurance from an insurer based in Sri Lanka before arrival.
It is mandatory that all international visitors have evidence of a negative PCR test 72 hours before arrival.
Further, all travelers should carry an adequate number of face masks with them and wear a face mask.
The Sri Lankan government is expecting to re-open its international airports next month after it was shut in March following the detection of the first local COVID-19 patient.
The airports have only been open for the repatriation of local citizens since then.
