Govt. to keep borders open despite latest lockdown

• Says decision taken to avoid inconvenience to tourists who already made payments for their holiday
• All tourist service providers allowed to report to work using official ID cards
• SLTDA clarifies only fully vaccinated Indian and international travellers are permitted via Indian route
• Any vaccination type recognised by the country of origin is accepted to enter SL

 By Charumini de Silva

Despite the latest countrywide lockdown, the Government says it will keep borders open for international travellers subject to strict health guidelines.

“Tourists have already paid for their airline tickets and services, including hotels. To avoid inconvenience to them, we have decided to keep the airport open for tourists with strict health guidelines,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.

As essential services, airports and travel services will be kept open. The tourism industry will continue to operate in accordance with the updated guidelines issued by the Health Services Director General on Thursday (18).

All tourist sector service providers can report to work as required using their official identity cards.

.In a related development, Sri Lanka Tourism this week clarified that only fully vaccinated Indian and international travellers are permitted, while insisting that non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated tourists are not allowed to enter the country, via the India route.

“Fully vaccinated travellers from India who have completed the recommended doses of vaccines will be considered under this route,” Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said.

Any vaccination type recognised by the country of origin is also accepted to enter Sri Lanka. 

These travellers do not require prior approval from Foreign Affairs Ministry or from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and there is no requirement of minimum duration of stay in the country.

All visas must be applied online via eta.gov.lk and the mandatory COVID-19 insurance and PCR tests must be obtained.

A report of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to embarkation, original vaccination certificate, and complete health declaration form are key documents required on arrival to be produced at the airport.

The Director General of Health Services on Thursday said that according to the new guidelines, all travelers including fully vaccinated travelers arriving in the country from abroad should undergo a PCR test on Arrival at the airport.

They will then be required to stay at a Quarantine Hotel or Quarantine Centre until the test results are available. The new guidelines state that a person who has been fully vaccinated does not need to be quarantined for 14 days if the PCR test is negative.

The new guidelines issued by the Director General of Health Services further state that a 14-day quarantine is essential if the visitor is not fully vaccinated even if the PCR test is negative for COVID-19.