Planning to visit Sri Lanka soon? Then you’ll be happy to know that Airport & Aviation Services (Pvt) Ltd has introduced an online health declaration system for arriving passengers in Sri Lanka. The system aims to ease the passenger handling process at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
What you need to do
The process is fairly straightforward. If you’re an arriving passenger, you would first need to fill the online form, found here. In the form, you’re to attach documents of your vaccination card and a COVID-19 test report done within 72 hours prior to your departure. To clarify, the vaccination card should clearly state that you have taken both doses of the vaccine.
Once submitted, you will be able to capture a QR code. This QR code will also be emailed to you. By now, the health officials at BIA would have received the submitted information and this would be reviewed prior to passenger arrival.
On arrival, you would only need to present your QR code to officials for scanning. Afterward, you’re good to go.
Visiting Sri Lanka
As of now, fully vaccinated visitors are free to stay at any type of accommodation and an on-arrival PCR test isn’t required. However, if you’re not a fully vaccinated tourist, you’re required to reserve a safe & secure certified Level 01 hotel for quarantine.
Following this, you should apply for a tourist ETA via the official ETA portal, here. It should be noted that “ Tourist ETA will only be approved upon the confirmation received from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) with regard to the Pre-confirmed booking of Level o1 hotel and other compulsory requirements for not fully vaccinated applicants.”
You can find a comprehensive list of important tourist information on the srilanka.travel website’s Hello Again section.
Rebuilding the tourism industry
In addition to the efforts to ease the tourist arrival process, the Lankan government is looking at other avenues as well. One such avenue is the proposal to introduce a digital nomad visa. As the name implies, this would offer visas for foreign visitors that would allow them to work remotely in the country over long periods of stay. It is reported that the project is currently a work in progress with the ICTA, Sri Lanka Tourism, and the Immigration and Emigration Department as its key stakeholders.
All in all, it’s clear that Sri Lanka is actively trying to rejuvenate one of the country’s biggest industries, the tourism sector. Although there’s an indication that the situation is improving in terms of arrivals, Sri Lanka still has a long way to go if it hopes to boost the sector amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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