Sri Lanka investor visas require a documented bank-account route

Arrange the accounts before sending the investment

Sri Lanka’s investor-visa guidance requires an Inward Investment Account and a Visa Programme Foreign Currency Account at a licensed commercial bank. Funds enter through the first account and can subsequently be invested through the visa-programme account. The published thresholds are USD100,000 for five years and USD200,000 for ten. These are existing requirements. Use the Immigration Department’s Investor Visa Category checklist before transferring funds.

An investment account is not an immigration approval

The Central Bank’s Directions 15 of 2021 explain the Inward Investment Account framework. Eligible account holders include foreign nationals, Sri Lankan dual citizens and specified other overseas individuals and entities. Eligibility for this banking account is therefore broader than eligibility for one immigration programme. A bank’s acceptance of the account holder does not itself establish approval of an investor visa.

The directions allow savings, term-deposit or current accounts in designated foreign currencies or Sri Lankan rupees, with specified restrictions on current accounts. They identify permitted credits, including overseas remittances through the banking system and particular transfers from the holder’s other accounts. Permitted investment payments have their own destination-account rules. Keep the remittance and investment records so the bank can identify the source and purpose of each transfer.

Use these directions with the bank’s current compliance instructions. The Foreign Exchange Department’s later amendment is separately published, so an investor should ask the bank to apply the current rules to the proposed transaction rather than rely on an old account name or a private transfer arrangement.

The visa-programme account has additional limits

Directions 5 of 2024 address special accounts for foreign nationals using residence-visa programmes. They distinguish a foreign-currency account from the separate Sri Lankan-rupee visa-programme account. The foreign-currency version can be a savings or term-deposit account; the rupee version can be current or savings. These are defined account categories, rather than interchangeable labels for any personal account.

The directions limit an eligible person to one account of each type in the banking system, while allowing joint holding with accompanying dependants. They also prohibit using either account to undertake an overseas capital transaction. A proposed transfer abroad therefore needs to be assessed under the appropriate permitted transaction rules; having a residence-related account does not give unrestricted investment-transfer rights.

Use this official banking instrument when agreeing the account structure with the licensed bank. Its terms require compliance with the particular visa scheme and any conditions set by the implementing immigration authority. Banking permission and immigration permission operate together; satisfying one does not cancel the conditions of the other.

Check that the proposed business activity is permitted

The Foreign Exchange Department’s Investments in Sri Lanka guide explains the wider investment categories and their restrictions. It distinguishes investing in company shares, debt securities, government securities, deposits, property and overseas-company offices. A transaction being permitted under foreign-exchange rules does not necessarily make it qualifying investment for the selected visa category.

The same guide identifies excluded voting-share investments, including pawn broking, coastal fishing and retail businesses below the specified USD5 million foreign-capital level. Several sectors, including education, travel agencies and particular agricultural activities, normally have a forty-per-cent foreign voting-share limit unless higher participation is approved. Other sectors require the competent authority’s permission.

Use that resource to identify the applicable sector and approval question before finalising a proposal. The rules for buying shares and opening an overseas company’s place of business are not identical. An illustrative investor planning a travel business should establish both the corporate structure and permitted foreign participation before treating the investment amount alone as sufficient evidence.

Complete the residence evidence and follow the conditions

The visa checklist requires an investment proposal, identity and clearance records, family documents where applicable, and a bank letter identifying the visa-programme account and balance. Police clearance must be no older than three months. The published visa charge is USD200 annually for each applicant. Material changes require notice within two months; permanent departure requires fourteen working days’ advance notice. Follow the individual decision.