Sri Lanka Investor Visas

Sri Lanka's Investor Visa grants foreign nationals, together with their spouse and dependants, a residence visa valid for five years in exchange for a minimum investment of US$100,000, or for 10 years in exchange for a minimum investment of US$200,000.

The Investor Visa is now Sri Lanka's only investment-based residence route open to new applicants. It replaces the earlier menu of investor categories, including the Golden Paradise deposit visa, the condominium-investment visas and the Resident Guest Scheme investor category. The first visa under the revised category was issued on 1 October 2025.

Qualifying investments include company shares, government debt securities, bank term deposits and real estate, all routed through dedicated visa-program bank accounts. The visa does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship.

Sri Lanka offers a single Investor Visa category with two tiers:

• US$100,000 for a five-year visa
• US$200,000 for a 10-year visa

The 10-year visa is first endorsed for five years. The Department of Immigration and Emigration then issues an official letter extending it for a further five years.

Fund transfer

1. Open an Inward Investment Account (IIA) and a Visa Programme Foreign Currency Account (VPFCA) with any licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka.
2. Transfer the investment funds into the IIA from an account held outside Sri Lanka or with the offshore banking unit of a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Existing IIA balances may also be used.
3. Make the qualifying investment through the VPFCA.

Qualifying investments

• Voting shares in a company incorporated in Sri Lanka, amounting to at least 10% of its voting share capital, subject to the sector exclusions and foreign-ownership limits of Foreign Exchange Regulation No. 02 of 2021
• Opening and operating a registered place of business in Sri Lanka as an overseas company
• Rupee or foreign-currency debt securities with a minimum maturity of five years, issued by the Government of Sri Lanka, a government establishment or the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
• Term deposits in rupees or designated foreign currencies with a licensed commercial bank
• Acquisition of immovable property, subject to Sri Lanka's other property laws

Family members and fees

The main applicant may include a spouse and dependants. The visa fee is US$200 per person per year.

Required documents

• Completed visa application form and a request letter
• Passport valid for at least six months, plus two recent passport photographs
• Investment proposal
• Marriage certificate for a spouse and birth certificates for dependants
• Completed security clearance form and a medical clearance report
• Police clearance certificate from the home country or country of residence, issued within the past three months
• Bank confirmation letter stating the applicant's name, account number, VPFCA account category and current balance

Application process

Applications are submitted to the Residence Visa Division of the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Battaramulla. Once the documents have been reviewed and approved, the visa is endorsed in the applicant's passport.

Ongoing conditions

• Material changes to the investment or personal details must be notified to the Department in writing within two months.
• The investment project is reviewed every two years by the Department's Investigation Division.
• Terminating the investment requires two months' written notice, and leaving Sri Lanka permanently requires 14 working days' notice.
• Repatriation of funds follows the directions issued under the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017.

• Five- or 10-year residence from US$100,000
• Broad choice of qualifying investments, including passive options such as term deposits and government securities
• Spouse and dependants included
• Low annual visa fee of US$200 per person
• Low cost of living
• Warm climate

Sri Lanka's Investor Visa is a temporary residence visa and does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship.

The Resident Guest Scheme, which previously offered investors a route to citizenship by registration after five years, is no longer open to new applicants. The Department of Immigration and Emigration now accepts only extensions from existing Resident Guest visa holders.

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Applications for this program may be directed to the Sri Lanka Department of Immigration and Emigration, Residence Visa Division. The full program terms are set out in the Department's Investor Visa Category guideline.

Legislation upon which this program is based Immigrants and Emigrants Act, No. 20 of 1948 (as amended), and the Immigration and Emigration Regulations published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2360/24 of 27 November 2023. Qualifying investments are governed by the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017.