Sri Lanka Digital Nomad Visa

Sri Lanka's Digital Nomad Visa is a residence visa (category 14) for foreign professionals who work remotely for employers or clients outside Sri Lanka. The Department of Immigration and Emigration publishes the rules in a guideline document (Department of Immigration and Emigration).

• Status: active
• Income: a monthly income remittance of at least $2,000 for the main applicant
• Length: 1 year, renewable each year
• Fee: $500 a year for each person, including the spouse and each dependent
• Local work: not allowed
• Processing time: not published

The Sri Lanka guide covers the tourist ETA, costs and where to base a stay.

The guideline sets these conditions (Department of Immigration and Emigration):

• The main applicant is a foreign national aged 18 or older.
• The applicant works in remote employment or freelancing, or owns a business not registered in Sri Lanka, serving clients outside Sri Lanka.
• A minimum monthly income remittance of $2,000 for the main applicant. The guideline frames this as money remitted each month, and proof of the remittance is on the document list.

Family allowed: Yes. The spouse and dependents of the main applicant can apply. The guideline adds $500 a month "for each" dependent once the count exceeds two. The Department's wording is ambiguous; the most likely reading is that up to two dependents need no extra remittance and each one after that adds $500 a month.

Local work allowed: No. All income must come from foreign sources.

Every applicant submits (guideline):

• A completed visa application form and a request letter.
• A photocopy of a passport valid for at least six months and two recent passport-size photographs.
• A marriage certificate for a spouse and birth certificates for dependents.
• A completed security clearance form and a medical clearance report.
• A police clearance certificate from the home country or country of residence, no older than three months.
• International health insurance that covers medical care in Sri Lanka.
• A recommendation from the Ministry of Digital Economy.
• Proof of the minimum monthly remittance for the main applicant and dependents.

• Main applicant: $500 a year.
• Spouse: $500 a year.
• Each dependent: $500 a year.

The fee recurs each year the visa is held (guideline; visa fees). Health insurance, the medical report, police certificates and translations add to the total.

Submit the documents to the Residence Visa Division of the Department of Immigration and Emigration (Suhurupaya, Battaramulla); the visa is endorsed in the passport.

1. Obtain the recommendation from the Ministry of Digital Economy and gather the documents.
2. Submit them to the Residence Visa Division of the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
3. The Department reviews the file for eligibility and compliance.
4. Once approved, the visa is endorsed in the passport.

The guideline names no online portal and publishes no processing time. Changes in employment, income or dependents must be reported to the Department within 30 days (guideline).

The visa is valid for 1 year (guideline).

Renewal: Renewable annually; the extension needs the same documents as the first issue plus proof of tax registration with the Inland Revenue Department. The guideline sets no limit on the number of renewals.

Ending the visa: holders who want to end it give two months' written notice and tell the authorities 14 working days before leaving Sri Lanka for good. The Department can cancel it for failure to meet the income, legal or compliance conditions.

Residence path: No path stated in the guideline; the visa gives up to 12 months of legal residence, renewable annually.

Holders must meet Sri Lankan tax obligations and need Inland Revenue Department tax registration to extend; no special nomad tax regime is stated (guideline).

Under the Inland Revenue Act, a person present in Sri Lanka for 183 days or more in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the year of assessment is tax resident (Inland Revenue Act). The year of assessment runs from April 1 to March 31.

A full year on the visa therefore usually makes the holder a Sri Lankan tax resident. Holders should check how Sri Lanka and the home country treat the foreign income, and any tax treaty between them.