Travelling to Sri Lanka

Entry requirements by nationality

Find your passport — tap it for documents, conditions and the source.

What you can bring

Tap an item for the limits, conditions and official source.

• Alcoholallowed, within limitsTourists: two regular-size bottles of wine and one and a half litres of spirits, duty-free.
• CannabisprohibitedPoisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance s.28: 'No poppy plant, coca plant, or hemp plant [Cannabis sativa L], or seeds, pods, leaves, flowers, or any part of any such plant or any preparation thereof, shall be imported or brought into or exported from Sri Lanka.' s.29 bans possession or use of hemp resin and preparations 'commonly known as bhang, hashish or ganja' except as licensed (s.30 exempts licensed galenical preparations and hemp rope/fibre).
• Cashallowed, declaration may be requiredDeclare to Customs on arrival if you bring in more than US$15,000 (or equivalent); you receive a currency declaration receipt.
• Controlled medicationdepends on specificsMedicines in NMRA's Schedule III aren't permitted, and more than a 90-day supply needs NMRA approval first.
• Dronesdepends on specificsCAASL: the drone import procedure (MOD, CAASL, TRCSL and Import & Export Control Department no-objections) 'is exclusively relevant to drones imported into the country for permanent use.
• Fresh produceprohibitedSri Lanka Customs: 'All fruits including Apples, Grapes, Mangoes, Peaches, Kiwi etc. are not allowed to be imported by air in personal baggage.
• Gems goldallowed, declaration may be requiredDeclare gemstones to Customs on arrival (US$200 service fee per person).
• Injectable medicationdepends on specificsNMRA's traveller instruction states: 'The medicine administered through intramuscular or intravenous route is not permitted' under the no-prior-approval personal allowance.
• Prescription medicationallowed, within limitsUp to 90 days' supply, or your stay if shorter, in original containers. Show your prescription if asked.
• TobaccoprohibitedSri Lanka Customs' Passenger Services Directorate page states: 'Cigarettes, Cigars, Beedies and Snuff are not allowed to be imported to Sri Lanka as personal baggage (accompanied or unaccompanied).' There is no duty-free tobacco allowance — the tourist exemption in the Customs passenger guide lists only clothing, wine/spirits, toilet water, perfume and souvenirs.

From the blog

• Six months from arrival, or after you leave? Passport validity rules compared

Recent changes to Sri Lanka's rules

• 2026-10-18Trip Check: passport validity checker (§1.6)
• 2026-10-18Summaries for four medication rows; Argentina row re-checked
• 2026-10-16SEO sprint 2: snippet summaries, accurate permit titles, natural names, share cards
• 2026-10-15Transit (plan step 1.5): stated transit rules and a stopover step in Trip Check
• 2026-10-10Eight new destinations: Sri Lanka, Peru, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Argentina, Jordan, Costa Rica, Qatar

Follow changes for Sri Lanka (RSS) →