Onward ticket for Sri Lanka

What Sri Lanka and your airline may ask for

• An approved ETA, obtained before you fly. It is free for Indians but still mandatory.
• A return or onward booking inside your 30 days: not a confirmed requirement, but advised.
• The address of your first night’s stay, in case you are asked.
• A printed or digital copy of the ETA approval.

Free ETA, still mandatory

From 25 May 2026, Sri Lanka issues a free 30-day tourist ETA to travellers from 40 countries, India among them, and it allows two entries. What did not change is that the ETA is a pre-arrival authorisation. You apply online before you travel, and you should not board without the approval.

It is easy to read “free” as “not needed”. It is still required. Apply through the official ETA channel only, and be cautious of any site that asks you to pay for something that now costs Indian passport holders nothing.

Is a return ticket required for Sri Lanka?

The honest answer is that it is not confirmed. The sources checked for this page do not list a return or onward ticket as an ETA condition, while travel agencies advise carrying one. An airline agent or an immigration officer can still ask how you plan to leave, as they can anywhere.

So if you hold a return ticket, you need do nothing more. If you are flying one way, perhaps because you plan to continue to the Maldives or Southeast Asia and have not fixed the date, an onward reservation covers the gap without buying a second ticket, and gives you a booking in your name to show if anyone asks.

Sri Lanka and the Maldives on one trip

Colombo and Malé are a short flight apart, and because the ETA allows two entries, a loop from Sri Lanka to the Maldives and back is possible; check the validity dates on your approval. If you plan it, know that the Maldives is much stricter than Sri Lanka. It asks for “confirmed return journey tickets” and a “prepaid confirmed booking at a registered facility”.

A held hotel booking does not meet that prepaid rule, so book and pay for your Maldives stay directly. Your flight from Colombo into Malé, and your flight out of the Maldives, should both be settled before you leave India.

Timing a one-way trip to Colombo

Apply for the ETA first. Leave the onward reservation for the day you fly to Colombo, or the night before at the earliest, and check the names and route once it arrives. Whichever airline holds the seat decides how long the hold lasts and can end it at any time, so a reservation ordered when you applied for the ETA may be gone by check-in.

Flights from Chennai, Bengaluru or Kochi to Colombo are short, so you usually land the same day. Even so, nobody can promise the hold is still there at immigration. Pick an onward date inside your 30 days.

Flying from India to Sri Lanka

Your reservation should follow a route you could realistically fly. These are common options; schedules change, so the desk confirms what is bookable for your dates.

Mistakes to avoid with a Sri Lanka trip

• Skipping the ETA because it is now free. It is still mandatory.
• Paying an unofficial site for an ETA that costs Indian passport holders nothing.
• An onward date beyond your 30 days.
• Ordering the flight reservation when you apply for the ETA. The airline can release the hold at any time.
• Planning a Maldives side trip with an unpaid hotel hold, which the Maldives’ prepaid rule excludes.
• A ticket edited to look issued. That is document fraud, not a reservation.

Dummy ticket and hotel bookings, matched to your itinerary

We do not send one loose document. The desk matches the flight reservation and every hotel booking to your itinerary: the same dates, the same cities, and no night left uncovered. These are the real documents of one order for a Switzerland visa file, issued on 5 November 2026: one flight reservation and four hotel bookings that cover all 9 nights between the two flights. Personal details are blacked out; everything else is as issued.

• Flight reservationEtihad, Hyderabad (HYD) to Zurich (ZRH), status Confirmed
• Hotel booking, ZurichMEININGER Hotel Zürich Greencity, 3 nights
• Hotel booking, GenevaB&B HOTEL Geneva Airport, 3 nights
• Hotel booking, LucerneSeminarhotel Romerohaus, 2 nights
• Hotel booking, Zurich AirportLeonardo Hotel Zurich Airport, 1 night

Open the full documents and the day-by-day table: flight and hotels matched date by date

How to get your Sri Lanka onward ticket

Sri Lanka questions, answered