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Visas and travel authorisations

Sri Lanka visa photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka (ETA) for the Sri Lanka visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 17 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Sri Lanka visa photo?

Most visitors need no photo at all: the Sri Lankan Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is issued online and asks for no photographs. You need one when a Sri Lankan mission issues the visa, usually two recent colour prints of 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm) or 2 x 2 inches, and when you extend a visa in Sri Lanka, where the online form makes a photo upload mandatory. No background colour is published for visa photos.

Visas for Sri Lanka are issued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration. For a short tourist, business or transit visit, most travellers apply online for an Electronic Travel Authorization, and the official ETA website says no passport copies, documents or photographs are required. From 25 May 2026, nationals of 40 countries receive a 30-day tourist ETA free of charge, but they still have to obtain it before arriving.

Photos come in when the visa is handled on paper. Sri Lankan missions can issue an ETA for up to 30 days, or endorse a short visit visa of up to 3 months in the passport, and some nationalities must apply through a sponsor at the head office. People coming to live in Sri Lanka on a residence visa enter on an entry visa from a mission, which the Muscat embassy says is issued only after the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration approves it, and the Form B entry visa application has two boxes for a photograph.

Inside Sri Lanka, extending a tourist visa also needs a photograph, either uploaded to the online extension system or attached to the paper application at the head office in Battaramulla.

Sri Lanka visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka (ETA):[1]

Print sizeMission visas: 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) or 2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm) prints; ETA: no photo
Digital sizeETA: no photo file; online visa extension: photo upload required, no pixel size published
BackgroundNot specified in the Department or mission visa rules read; Muscat asks only for colour prints
ColourColour (Muscat embassy)
Photo ageRecent photographs (Muscat); no exact age limit published
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale.

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

Colur, 3.5cm x 4.5cm or 2” x 2’

Visit/Tourist visa[13]

Key requirements

  • ETA: no photo

    An ETA is issued through an online system, and the ETA website states that no passport copies, documents or photographs are required. Nothing is endorsed in your passport. The Department's own tourist visa page does list a JPG image of the passport data page, so keep one ready.

  • Mission visas: two colour prints

    When a Sri Lankan embassy issues the visa, expect two recent colour passport-size photos. The embassy in Muscat asks for 3.5 x 4.5 cm or 2 x 2 inch prints for tourist, business, transit, journalist, official and residence entry visas.

  • Transit visa form

    The Department's transit visa form, Form C, has a box to affix a photograph and says an applicant may be required to submit two copies of a photograph of 3.5 x 4.5 cm for the visa.

  • Extensions need a photo

    To extend a tourist visa at the head office you hand in the application along with your photograph and passport, in person. The online extension system makes uploading a photograph and the passport data page mandatory.

  • Residence visas

    Residence visas use Form A, which has a box to affix a photograph, and the Department's permanent residence visa checklists ask for a colour photograph of the applicant in each category.

  • Resident Guest Scheme sizes differ

    The Resident Guest Scheme page lists two photographs of 6 x 5 cm, while the scheme's own application form prints a 3.5 x 4.5 cm photo box. Ask the Department which size it wants before you print.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Apply for your ETA on the official ETA website before you travel.
  • Bring two recent colour prints for a visa issued at a mission.
  • Check the issuing mission's checklist for size and number of prints.
  • Have a digital photo ready for an online visa extension.
  • Glue a photo into each photo box on Form A, B or C.

Don't

  • Do not buy prints for an ETA; it needs no photograph.
  • Do not apply or pay through unofficial ETA websites.
  • Do not assume one mission's photo rules apply at another.
  • Do not wait until your visa expires to request an extension.

Sample photos

How a Sri Lanka visa photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Babies and children

None of the visa pages we read sets separate photo rules for children. Every foreign national, including children, needs an ETA before arrival, and the Muscat embassy notes that children below 12 do not pay the ETA processing fee.

Children still need extensions: the Department says children under 12 must have their tourist visa extended if they stay more than 30 days from their initial arrival date, and the extension application carries the same photo requirement as an adult's.

The only official digital visa photo is the upload to the Department's online visa extension system, which publishes no pixel size or file limit. The ETA itself takes no photo.

Everything else is a print: two colour prints of 3.5 x 4.5 cm or 2 x 2 inches for a visa issued by a mission, and a photo glued into the box on Form A, Form B, Form C or the visit visa extension form. A digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.

Where to submit the photo

The ETA website lists five routes: apply yourself online, through a third party such as a travel agent or airline, at a Sri Lankan overseas mission, at the Department's head office, or on arrival at the port of entry. If an ETA is refused, the system sends a referral notice and you contact the nearest Sri Lankan mission for help.

Visa extensions are handled online or at the head office at Suhurupaya, Battaramulla, where the applicant must be present to apply and to collect the visa. Residence visa applications are sent to the Controller General by the organisation, company or institution in Sri Lanka on the applicant's behalf.

How to get your Sri Lanka visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Sri Lanka visa: 35 × 45 mm print. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: eTA: no photo; mission visas: two colour prints; transit visa form; extensions need a photo.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The only official digital visa photo is the upload to the Department's online visa extension system, which publishes no pixel size or file limit. The ETA itself takes no photo.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. The ETA website lists five routes: apply yourself online, through a third party such as a travel agent or airline, at a Sri Lankan overseas mission, at the Department's head office, or on arrival at the port of entry.

Make this photo online

Sri Lanka visa photo FAQ

No. The official ETA website says the ETA is issued through an online system and that no passport copies, documents or photographs are required. You complete the online form, pay where a fee applies and receive an approval or referral notice.

3.5 x 4.5 cm, or 35 x 45 mm, is the size on the Department's transit visa form and in the Muscat embassy's visa checklists, which also accept 2 x 2 inches. Muscat asks for two recent colour prints per application.

Yes. The online extension system makes a photograph upload mandatory, together with the passport data page. At the head office in Battaramulla you attach your photograph to the paper application and must attend in person.

None of the Department or mission visa pages we read names a background colour; the Muscat embassy asks only for colour photos. If a mission is issuing your visa, ask it or check its own checklist before printing.

Diplomatic and official passport holders on official visits, journalists on media assignments and people entering to obtain a residence visa all need a visa from a mission. Visitors from Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Afghanistan apply for an ETA through a Sri Lankan sponsor at the head office instead.

No. The free 30-day tourist ETA for nationals of 40 countries, in place since 25 May 2026, runs through the same online system and needs no photograph. Travellers must still obtain it before arriving in Sri Lanka.

Related photo specifications

Other Sri Lanka documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka (ETA). What is an ETA? eta.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka (ETA). How to apply for an ETA eta.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka (ETA). Online Visa Application: important notices eta.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Tourist Visa immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Visit Visa Extension immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Online Application for Visa Extension eservices.immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  7. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Application for a Transit Visa (Form C) immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  8. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Application for an Entry Visa (Form B) immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  9. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Application for the Issue / Extension of a Residence Visa (Form A) immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  10. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Permanent Residence Visa immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  11. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Resident Guest Scheme immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  12. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Resident Guest Scheme application form immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  13. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Muscat. Visit/Tourist visa oman.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  14. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Muscat. Business visa oman.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  15. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Muscat. Entry/Resident visa oman.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  16. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Muscat. Diplomatic and Official visa oman.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  17. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Muscat. Other Visa Types (transit, journalists) oman.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka (ETA) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Sri Lanka visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/sri-lanka/visa-photo

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