No visa-free travel for Turks in another country

The popular South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka has made a significant change to attract tourists. Sri Lanka, which has recently become popular among Turkish travelers as well, announced that it has made visas free for citizens of 40 countries for a period of 1 year in line with a new decision. However, it drew attention that Turkey was not among these countries.

The new visa regulation, approved by the parliament, covers the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and numerous countries from the European Union. The application in question came into effect as of May 2026 and will be valid until May 2027. This regulation was adopted following the record of 2.3 million visitors that Sri Lanka, which attracts tourists from all over the world with its popular blue train route, natural beauties, and tea plantations, broke last year.

Turkish citizens, on the other hand, will have to follow the existing visa application steps and pay the determined visa fee when they want to travel to Sri Lanka. Therefore, the old procedures have not changed for Turkish travelers planning a vacation in Sri Lanka.

Citizens of the countries included in the new system will obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) online before their journey and will be able to stay in Sri Lanka for up to 30 days. In this way, it is aimed to prevent congestion and technical problems at airports.

Sri Lanka's Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala, stated, "We are aware that this application will create a loss of over 75 million dollars in visa revenue for the state budget. However, our goal is to reach over 3 million tourists by the end of 2026 and compensate for the revenue loss."

The fact that Turkey was not included in the visa-free application is particularly noteworthy, as many Turkish travelers show great interest in the country but could not find a place for themselves in the new regulation.