Apply India Visa Online from Sri Lanka
The island country of Sri Lanka, officially known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is home to a variety of languages, races and culture. There are various ethnic groups like the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils and others, in Sri Lanka. Its official languages are Sinhalese and Tamil, while English is a recognized language. It has a cultural history which dates back to over 2500 years and is heavily influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism. The traces of British influence over its culture are also visible, as it was once a British colony. India, the most influential South Asian power, neighbours Sri Lanka. The prismatic culture, traditions and geography of India has been drawing the Sri Lankan tourists, since a long time. The mesmerizing snow trenches, frisk coasts and the mystic chasms of spirituality in India has captured the hearts and souls of many Sri Lankan tourists. Sri Lanka finds its place in the list of top ten countries from where maximum tourists visit India. In the year 2016, around 6 percent of foreign tourists in India were from Sri Lanka. India and Sri Lanka have shared more or less warm relations. However, political tension was visible during the Lankan civil war especially after the unsuccessful Indian intervention into the Lankan territory. Another bone of contention between the two countries has been the laws of the seas, evident through the fishing dispute in the Palk Strait where both countries are separated by 12 nautical miles. Nonetheless, both countries have tried to maintain cordial ties through bodies like BIMSTEC, South Asian Economic Union, South Asian Free Trade Association, South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme, etc. The trade relations between the two countries, is notable. India is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner. Some of the major exports to India are spices, poultry feed, apparels, rubber and rubber products, and paper; while some of the major export items from India include motor vehicles, cotton, minerals, plastic articles and cement. India has also been earning handsome revenues through the Lankan tourists in India. Therefore the Indian Government has provided the facility of e visas for the Lankan tourists. Tourists from Sri Lanka can now apply for visas online. The online visa facility includes tourist visas for India, e business visas for India and e medical visas for India. For the Lankan tourists applying for e visas, the visa is obtainable on arrival at sixteen, designated international airports. The e visas are available twice a year, for a period of thirty days, for all Lankan tourists. The application for e visa has to be submitted within 4-120 days of the applicant’s date of arrival. However, if any Lankan tourist misses this deadline then she or he can contact IndianVisaOnline.org.lk, for emergency e visa facilities. The ETA holders are facilitated through these visas to enter into India and to stay anywhere in India. This step of the Indian Government has eased the process for Lankan tourists visiting India to a considerable degree.
