Sri Lanka-Visa Extension
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It was so easy. How can this be?
We decided that we should extend our Visa for Sri Lanka just in case we are not allowed on the plane. India has changed their Visa rules and a tourist is not allowed back in the country until they have been gone for two months. They are not honouring people that have the 6 month multiple entry visa and they are being very random about who they let back in.
If you missed the post, see why we think this may happen to us at our article India Visa Rules Update.
India is a country that likes to make things complicated. You will find long queues, lot’s of paperwork and officials that can’t answer your questions. When you need things to get done, you have to go through a lot of red tape and different beaureaucrat’s before you can get anything accomplished.
So naturally when we went to the immigration office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we were expecting a long day.
We awoke at 5:00 am to catch the bus north to the capital. It is a two and a half hour bus ride from Hikkaduwa and we wanted to make sure we were early to beat the crowd.
Getting off at the main bus station in the Fort District, we caught a tuk tuk to immigration for 300 Rs ($2.60) We could have transferred to the number 103, 144 or 171 bus, but we didn’t waste time and spent the small fare.
The office was packed with people. Hundreds of people were in a mass on the main floor.
But we didn’t need to be on the main floor.
Visa extensions are on the third floor of the building and the security guard pointed us toward the elevator where we entered a room greeted by a smiling receptionist at the front.
“Go to teller number one on the left.” She said.
We walked right up to the teller, he handed us a form and asked us for our passports and one photo.
We filled out our form, were sent to window number 3 to have our form signed by another official and then were sent to the desk to pay our 5500 Rs ($49.00) each for the month long extension.
We had made arrangements with our guest house in Hikkaduwa that we would have to leave for the night and they told us that we could just leave our things in our room free of charge. We were expecting a long day and packed a little overnight bag while we waited for our Visa’s to be updated.
After we paid our money, the teller sent us to the desk beside her where they took our passports, receipt of payment and signed form. We were told to sit down and wait.
We joined the 50 or so other foreigners waiting on the chairs and in 15 minutes time, our numbers were called and we picked up our passports new Visa’s and all.
We were in and out of immigration in less than an hour with visa in hand!
We were so taken off guard that we had the entire day left in Colombo, that we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We thought we would have to look for a hotel and settle in for the night, but instead we were free to go.
We made our way down to the waterfront (another short and cheap tuk tuk ride), had some lunch and decided to head back to Hikkaduwa early.
We were back at the beach by 3:00 pm where we were free to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.
We may not stay in Sri Lanka for the extra month, we are still going to try to fly out to India on our return ticket, but just in case we are turned away at the airport (like the other Canadians that we met that tried to fly back last week) we are prepared.
Our visa expires on the day we fly out and we don’t want to be caught in No Man’s Land ala Tom Hanks in Terminal, so we now have peace of mind to give it a shot.
Sri Lanka has been heaven. It is right up there as one of our favorite countries in the 37 that we have visited on this planet.
The people are kind and friendly, the landscape is diverse and stunning, the wildlife, national parks and jungle is expansive for a land mass so small and the culture is deeply ingrained in a people that are ready to live in peace and want the world to come and enjoy what their country has to offer.
Department of Immigration and Emigration of Sri Lanka is located at 41 Adanda Rajakaruna Mawatha (road)
Visa’s extension for Canadians is 5500 Rs. Rupees only accepted. No other currency or credit cards.
Bus from Southern Beaches 250 Rs approx for Airconditioned
300 Rs from bus station by tuk tuk
$1 US Dollar = 112 Rs
9 Responses to Sri Lanka-Visa Extension
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Hey thanks for the information, that helps a lot. I have some tentative plans for next winter, but very tentative, but understanding the different lengths in visas is helpful. I find it bothersome of those countries that only offer one months visas.
If your a slow traveler those one months are not long enough, I still don’t understand Thailand and their one month visa syndrome.
Well I can assure anybody that a person can live in Egypt on an extended tourist visa, and Bulgaria is very easy, too. To live here just form a company and get your long term visa, simple as peach pie.
By the way visa extensions in Syria are very easy, and Lebanon you can stay an extra three months and just go to the border and they will extended the visa and then you depart, kind of different.
Thanks for the info.
.-= Shawn´s last blog ..It’s Official, Winter Arrived In Bulgaria. =-.
That is great information too Shawn thanks. We have heard amazing things about Syria and are wanting to go there sooner than later. Sri Lanka offers a one month visa for free upon arrival and then you can extend it for up to 3 months afterwards. I think that you can keep extending it too after the 3 month. Thanks for the post, it reminded me that I didn’t give the information of what Visa Sri Lanka offers for Visa’s in the first place.
I am so inspired to visit Sri Lanka1 Partly because of you guys and partly because of the Visit Sri Lanka Contest I joined. Hey, if you guys have some Flickr photos that can be uploaded (with your permission, of course) to the Sri Lanka Tourism site, it will give me +2 points per picture I upload / they approve
So far, I am in 4th place in terms of points for the contest. But ultimately, a panel of Sri Lanka Tourism Judges will select the winner. Cross your fingers!!!
.-= Jen Laceda´s last blog ..Eat, Drink, and Be Merry in Tel Aviv =-.
It’s amazing how we can get so numbly accustomed to the endless frustration of bureaucracy run amok, that when something works as it is supposed to, we’re actually impressed with it…..but it’s definitely to Sri Lanka’s credit that they seem to get it right. Kudos to them!
@Jen – that sounds like a really cool contest – I hope you win!
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Travel Writing: See the World. Sell the Story. =-.
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Good that you are prepared! How long was that guy living at the airport?
.-= Melvin´s last blog ..Relaxation & Wildlife in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens =-.
I was so thinking “this sounds like Italy,” until I got to the part where you in and out in 15 minutes! Hope you enjoyed the rest of your day!
.-= Cherrye at My Bella Vita´s last blog ..Travel Tip Tuesday: How Not to Look Like a Tourist in Southern Italy … for Men =-.
I’m sold on Sri Lanka! It’s official.
India, on the other hand, I’m becoming less and less enchanted with. Again, thanks so much for the honest, detailed story telling.
You are welcome Garrett. We try to tell the truth about our experiences. We appreciate honesty ourselves. Cheers!