The Sri Lanka government has decided to allow citizens from 35 countries visa free access into the South Asian country with effect from October 1.

Nepal is one of the 35 countries.

M U M Ali Sabry, minister for foreign affairs of Sri Lanka, made public the list of the countries on his X account on Wednesday evening. He described the government move as a first step towards a visa free regime.

Commenting on his social media post, Foreign Secretary of Nepal Sewa Lamsal thanked the Sri Lankan minister “for including Nepal on the list”.

According to Sri Lankan media, a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday took the decision.

“This policy will be in effect from October 1, 2024, for a period of six months,” writes srilankamirror.com.

The countries included in the list are United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, France, United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Belarus, Iran, Sweden, South Korea, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and New Zealand.