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Sri Lanka · digital nomad visa · 2026

Sri Lanka's digital nomad visa

12months
Digital Nomad VisaOpen · checked 2026-08-18 · immigration.gov.lk

Sri Lanka runs the Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) — Residence Visa category 14, an initial 12 months for remote workers earning $2,000 a month.

Next step

One email when the app can count this stay for you.

How we know

Every figure here is as immigration.gov.lk publishes it, checked 18 August 2026. Where a number is our own arithmetic rather than a printed figure, the row says so.

Status
Open
Visa
Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) — Residence Visa category 14
Initial stay
12 months
Renewal
"Reside legally in Sri Lanka for up to 12 months, renewable annually." Extension requires, alongside the first-issuance documents, "a proof of Tax registration via Inland Revenue Department".
Income required
$2,000 a month — Published as a monthly REMITTANCE, not merely earnings: "Minimum monthly income remittance of USD 2,000 for the main applicant and if the dependent count increases more than 2, additional USD 500 should be remitted monthly for each". Note that the USD 1,500 per month figure circulating widely on aggregator sites is contradicted by the Department's own published document.
Fee
$500 — "Visa Fees — I. Main applicant - USD 500 per year II. Spouse - USD 500 per year III. Each Dependant - USD 500 per year." This is a recurring annual fee per person, not a one-off processing fee. It matches the Department's fee schedule line "Residence Visa - 10 | Digital Nomad | 500", under a table headed "Fee US Dollar (US $) (For a year or part thereof)".
Processing
Three published steps — submission to the Department of Immigration and Emigration Residence Visa Division, evaluation, then approval and visa issuance endorsed on the passport. No processing time is published by the Department, and there is no online DNV application channel.
Who qualifies
Aged 18 or older; engaged in remote employment, freelancing, or owning a business not registered in Sri Lanka that serves clients outside Sri Lanka. "Not permitted to engage in local employment within Sri Lanka; all income must be earned from foreign sources." Requires a "Recommendation from Ministry of Digital Economy", plus police clearance less than three months old, medical clearance, a security clearance form, and international health insurance covering care in Sri Lanka.
Family
Spouse and dependants are eligible, each paying USD 500 per year. Beyond two dependants, an extra USD 500 per month must be remitted for each additional dependant. Dependent children may be enrolled in international or private schools.
Where to apply
Paper submission to the Department of Immigration and Emigration, Residence Visa Division, "Suhurupaya", Battaramulla. Listed on the Department's Residence Visa page as item "14. Digital Nomad".
Official page
immigration.gov.lk
Checked
18 August 2026

Sources are listed further down the page.

What to know before you apply

VERIFIED LIVE, contrary to the common "announced but never opened" framing — and contrary to the figures circulating on aggregator sites, which give USD 1,500 per month, five-year validity and a one-off USD 500 fee. Three independent official confirmations: the Residence Visa page lists "14. Digital Nomad" linking to a Department-hosted procedure PDF; the visa fee schedule carries a "Residence Visa - 10 | Digital Nomad | 500" row; and the PDF itself sets out eligibility, documents, procedure, duration, fees, benefits and termination. Document provenance: the PDF's internal creation date is 13 January 2026 and it is served with Last-Modified 14 January 2026, so it went up in mid-January 2026. TWO CAVEATS FOR READERS. The required "Recommendation from Ministry of Digital Economy" is an external gate with no published process we could verify, and there is no online application channel — so this is not a straightforwardly obtainable visa. ALTERNATIVES, for context: the general Residence Visa runs to 16 categories, valid one year and renewable annually, USD 200 per year for most classes, with investor sub-categories including the Golden Paradise Visa (USD 200,000 deposit, 10 years, USD 200/yr). The "My Dream Home" programme is CLOSED to new applicants — its page is titled "My Dream Home Visa Programme (Extension only for the existing visa holders)" — as is the Resident Guest Scheme. The tourist ETA expressly bars employment, self-employment and living "in Sri Lanka for a long period through frequent or successive visits". On the 2025-26 ETA changes: an announcement of 13 October 2025 making ETA mandatory for all short-stay visitors from 15 October 2025 was revoked on 30 October 2025; the current regime, effective 25 May 2026, requires an ETA of all foreign nationals but grants it free of charge for 30 days to nationals of 40 listed countries (90 days for Maldives). Because this is a two-page document with no version number or effective date printed on it, it is worth re-checking periodically — it could be swapped silently at the same URL.

What it means for your tax days

Extension requires proof of tax registration with the Inland Revenue Department, and the holder "should comply with all immigration laws, tax, and legal obligations in Sri Lanka." No tax exemption or reduced rate is offered. A visa is permission to stay; tax residency follows the days. Sri Lanka treats you as tax resident once you are present 183 days 183 days or more in aggregate in ANY twelve-month period that commences or ends during the year of assessment, and residents are taxed on worldwide income. Days are not the only test: Section 69(1), Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017: an individual is resident for a year of assessment if the individual "(a) resides in Sri Lanka; (b) is present in Sri Lanka during the year and that presence falls within a period or periods amounting in aggregate to one hundred and eighty three days or more in any twelve month period that commences or ends during the year; (c) is an employee or an official of the Government of Sri Lanka and his spouse is posted abroad during the year; or (d) is an individual who is employed on a Sri Lanka ship, within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act, during the period the individual is so employed." A non-Sri-Lankan caught by limb (d) is taxed as a resident only on the shipboard employment income. SPLIT-YEAR, section 70(1): an individual resident only by reason of limb (b) "shall be so resident from the start of the one hundred and eighty three day period"; otherwise a person resident during a year of assessment is treated as resident for the whole year. NEW EXCLUSIONS from Amendment Act No. 11 of 2026, deemed effective 1 April 2025: section 69(1A) provides that an individual is NOT resident if they hold an INVESTOR CATEGORY RESIDENCE VISA issued by the Controller of Immigration and Emigration; section 69(2A) provides that an individual who leaves Sri Lanka under an employment contract of not less than one year, with an employer unassociated with their immediate Sri Lankan employer, is not resident from the first day of the year of assessment of departure until the contract expires. The full tests and the official source are on our Sri Lanka tax-day page.

Sources

Questions people ask about Sri Lanka

Does Sri Lanka have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Sri Lanka runs the Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) — Residence Visa category 14, which grants an initial stay of 12 months ("reside legally in sri lanka for up to 12 months, renewable annually." extension requires, alongside the first-issuance documents, "a proof of tax registration via inland revenue department".). Checked 18 August 2026 against immigration.gov.lk.

How much do you need to earn for the Sri Lanka digital nomad visa?

$2,000 a month — Published as a monthly REMITTANCE, not merely earnings: "Minimum monthly income remittance of USD 2,000 for the main applicant and if the dependent count increases more than 2, additional USD 500 should be remitted monthly for each". Note that the USD 1,500 per month figure circulating widely on aggregator sites is contradicted by the Department's own published document.. That is the figure as published; check the official page for the current amount before you apply.

How long can you stay on the Sri Lanka digital nomad visa?

12 months on the initial permission; "reside legally in sri lanka for up to 12 months, renewable annually." extension requires, alongside the first-issuance documents, "a proof of tax registration via inland revenue department".. Stretch counts the days either way and tells you the date you must be out.

Does a digital nomad visa in Sri Lanka make you tax resident?

Not by itself — but staying does. Sri Lanka treats you as tax resident once you are there 183 days 183 days or more in aggregate in ANY twelve-month period that commences or ends during the year of assessment, and residents are taxed on worldwide income. Extension requires proof of tax registration with the Inland Revenue Department, and the holder "should comply with all immigration laws, tax, and legal obligations in Sri Lanka." No tax exemption or reduced rate is offered. See our Sri Lanka tax-day page for the tests and the official source.

How does Stretch help with the Sri Lanka digital nomad visa?

Log the day you land and Stretch counts the days against the permission you are on, shows the date you must be out, and reminds you at 14, 7, 3 and 1 days. It also tallies the days that count towards tax residency, so the 183-day question answers itself. The counting and the alerts are free, forever.

Other digital nomad visas

Sri Lanka, the rest of it

Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice, and this is not tax advice. Visa and tax rules change and are applied by the authority, not by an app — every figure here shows its source and the date we checked it. Checked 2026-08-18; confirm on the official page before you apply or file.