Sri Lanka has announced an extension of its visa-free entry initiative for visitors from 7 countries until April 30, 2024. Citizens of India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand were first approved for visa-free entry by the Cabinet of Ministers in October 2023. The program was initially due to last until March 31. However,
Visa Requirements for Estonian Citizens
Visa requirements for citizens of Estonia are administrative entry restrictions placed on Estonian passport holders by the authorities of every country across the globe and determine whether they need a visa to visit an international destination.
At present, the Henley Passport Index places the Estonian passport 13th on its ranking of the passports of the world according to travel freedom enjoyed by holders. This is because Estonians can visit up to 130 countries and territories worldwide visa-free or with a visa on arrival.
At present, there are around 110 visa-free countries for Estonian citizens, which grant Estonians a visa-exempt stay of between 15 days up to 1 year depending on destination. Visa exemption is most often granted for travel for either tourism, transit, or business and trade activities.
To gain entry to a visa-exempt country, it is usually necessary to present an Estonian passport upon arrival at a border control checkpoint upon arrival. However, in some cases, Estonians may cross borders without a visa simply by presenting a valid national ID card.
Up to 40 other international destinations have implemented Electronic Travel Visa Authorization programs for Estonian nationals. These electronic systems allow Estonians to obtain either an eVisa or electronic visa waiver through a simple online application and remove the need to wait in long border queues to obtain a visa on arrival or visit an embassy to apply for a visa.
Electronic travel authorizations and eVisas for Estonian passport holders allow a stay from 14 days up to 90 days and may allow a single entry or multiple entries depending on the country of issue.
To visit these same countries for longer durations of stay, it is necessary to obtain an embassy visa for Estonian citizens from a diplomatic government office of the destination. Additionally, roughly 80 countries require Estonians to have an approved embassy visa no matter the length of their intended stay or travel purpose.
More detailed information about the different entry types for Estonian nationals can be found below.