While U.S. tourists have grown used to going to countries such as France or Mexico with little other than a plane ticket, certain countries have only now started to loosen up their visa policies for visitors from Western countries.
Thailand recently raised its visa-free travel period from 30 to 60 days, while Kenya took the unconventional step of getting rid of visas entirely regardless of one's nationality (that, naturally, does not mean that foreigners can stay in the country indefinitely as one's arrival and departure is still tracked in an online system.)
Commonly sought out by tourists looking to see ancient fortresses and verdant rice fields as well as ride the famed blue train from Kandy to Badulla, Sri Lanka previously required visitors from countries like the U.S. and the United Kingdom to apply for an electronic travel authorization for visits of up to 30 days and a full consulate visa for anything longer.
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Amid the suspension of its eVisa application software due to multiple controversies around its management, Sri Lanka has been issuing tourists requiring them visas on arrival from Aug. 2 — a process that significantly slowed down the flow of traffic at its borders.
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As a result of both the new bottlenecks and a desire to boost the country's tourism industry, Sri Lanka's government decided to finally take the leap and get rid of short-term visa requirements for visitors from 35 countries. Along with Americans, citizens of France, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Saudi Arabia and South Korea are all included in the list of travelers with newfound visa-free access.
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'Countries competing with Sri Lanka in the field of tourism'
Sri Lanka's Council of Ministers issued a statement saying that it has "studied and submitted a detailed report on eight countries competing with Sri Lanka in the field of tourism and the Honourable President presented the said report to the attention of the Council of Ministers."
The change comes into effect on Oct. 1 and will be in place for the following six months at which point the government will evaluate whether to make it permanent or replace it with something else. Citizens of certain other nations, such as Afghanistan and Syria, are not affected by the new travel program and need to apply for a visa to Sri Lanka at the country's consulate as before.
"Today Cabinet approved a one chop system like in Singapore for the 35 countries with visa free [access] to start with immediate effect," former Sri Lankan Tourism Minister and Presidential Advisor on Tourism Affairs Harin Fernando wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The mention of Singapore refers to the nation's move toward fully eliminating the need for physical passport verification at Changi Airport and other entry points into the country.
While currently only available for visitors from certain nearby countries at specific crossings, the idea is to introduce biometrics and facial recognition technology to the point that anyone arriving will already have one's identification and immigration data in the customs system.
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