Foreign personnel employed at a bank, including eligible dependants.
Can bring: spouse, dependants, children
Southern Asia · Immigration
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka sits in Southern Asia. Its immigration system runs 43 distinct routes — led by family, work and short stay & visit, each set out in official law. All 43 cite an official government source, shown on the route with the date we last read it. Who actually qualifies depends on your full profile.
- Immigration routes
- 43across 14 route categories, each set out in official law
- Source-cited routes
- 43 of 43cite an official government source, with the date we last read it
- Largest category
- Family11 of the 43 routes — see them under Family below
- Region
- Southern Asia
- Capital
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Population
- 21,756,000
- Official language
- Sinhala, Tamil
- Currency
- LKR
- Time zone
- UTC+05:30
Source-cited pathways
Immigration routes
All 43 routes, grouped by purpose — 43 of 43 cite an official government source directly.
Work
7 routes
Expatriate personnel employed in a project under the Board of Investment, including eligible dependants.
Can bring: spouse, dependants, children
Residence for personnel employed in Colombo Port City.
Professional personnel required for a government-approved project.
Can bring: spouse, dependants, children
Residence for personnel attached to an international non-governmental organization.
Residence for personnel attached to a non-governmental organization.
Foreign personnel employed by a registered private-sector company or institution.
Can bring: spouse, dependants, children
Investment
3 routes
Long-term residence for investment through a Golden Paradise Foreign Currency Account.
Savings from USD 200,000Can bring: spouse, dependants
Residence while managing a qualifying Sri Lankan investment of at least USD 100,000.
Savings from USD 100,000Can bring: spouse, dependants
Residence while managing a qualifying Sri Lankan investment of at least USD 200,000.
Savings from USD 200,000Can bring: spouse, dependants
Study
3 routes
Residence for study at an educational institution approved by the government.
Savings from USD 1,500/yr
Residence for a foreign internship holder.
Residence for study at a Sri Lankan university.
Family
11 routes
Residence for a child of a Sri Lankan parent or parents who holds foreign nationality or a foreign passport.
Can bring: children, parents
Residence for the dependent child of a qualifying non-Sri Lankan spouse of a Sri Lankan citizen.
Can bring: spouse, dependants, children
Residence for the spouse or dependant of a qualifying Digital Nomad principal applicant.
Income from USD 500/moCan bring: spouse, dependants
Residence for the spouse or dependent child of a qualifying former Sri Lankan citizen.
Can bring: spouse, dependants
Residence for the non-Sri Lankan spouse of a Sri Lankan citizen.
Can bring: spouse
Residence with employment approval for a foreign spouse of a Sri Lankan citizen after at least ten years' continuous residence.
Can bring: spouse
Residence for one guardian accompanying a student under 16 at an approved educational institution.
Savings from USD 1,500/yrCan bring: legal guardian
Residence with employment approval for a foreign spouse living separately who has a child below 18.
Can bring: spouse, children
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Official government source: immigration.gov.lk · checked 2026-07-27
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Official government source: immigration.gov.lk · checked 2026-07-27
Residence with employment approval for a foreign spouse of a deceased Sri Lankan who has not remarried.
Can bring: spouse
Independent means
1 route
Renewal-only residence for an existing My Dream Home visa holder.
Savings from USD 15,000Can bring: spouse, dependants, children
Digital nomad
1 route
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Income from USD 2,000/moCan bring: spouse, dependants
Residence-based status
3 routes
Residence for a registered Indian covered by the 1954 Indo-Lanka Agreement.
Can bring: spouse, children
Renewal-only residence for an existing investor-category Resident Guest.
Savings from USD 250,000
Renewal-only residence for an existing professional-category Resident Guest.
Income from USD 2,000/mo
Cultural, religious & volunteer
2 routes
Residence for a member of the clergy or a foreign religious worker.
Residence for an approved volunteer placement.
Short stay & visit
4 routes
Short visit for a business purpose, with single, double or multiple journeys as authorized.
Free 30-day tourist ETA for nationals of the 40 countries listed by the Department from 25 May 2026.
Tourist ETA for Maldivian nationals under the bilateral reciprocal arrangement.
Short visit for tourism, holidays, friends or relatives, short medical treatment, arts, music, dance or sport.
Humanitarian protection
1 route
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Ancestry & return
2 routes
For a person of non-Sri Lankan nationality whose Sri Lankan citizenship has ceased and who can prove that former status; a spouse and dependants may be included.
Can bring: spouse, dependants
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Official government source: immigration.gov.lk · checked 2026-07-27
Medical treatment
2 routes
Residence for one medical assistant or a dependant linked to a medical-visa holder.
Income from USD 1,500/yrCan bring: dependants
Residence for a person undergoing medical treatment in Sri Lanka.
Savings from USD 1,500/yr
Transit
1 route
Admission incidental to a journey through Sri Lanka to another destination.
Other & special
2 routes
Residence for diplomats and officials attached to foreign missions and their dependants.
Residence category administered in connection with the Colombo Port City Commission.
Official sources
- ETA PortalGovernment
See which Sri Lanka routes you actually qualify for.
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