Should I always carry my passport?

In Sri Lanka always carry your passport

If you are visiting Sri Lanka as a tourist (or are a foreigner living here) you need to carry your passport when you go out of your hotel or home.

But why?

Well, it’s been a law for many years, not just since the Easter 2019 bombings. It’s because at any time you might be asked to produce acceptable photographic identity that proves who you are, and also whether your have a valid permit to be in Sri Lanka.

Now the emergency regulations make it vital that you should follow this rule. If you are not able to have your passport with you for some reason, then you must have a good photocopy of it that shows the passport number and personal details (and your photograph) as well as visa details.

Usually, it is only the police or the immigration authorities who can check a tourist’s passport. However, under the current emergency law, military personnel on duty also have the power to check a tourist’s identity.

If a tourist (or even a resident foreigner) cannot provide satisfactory identification documents, he or she can be detained while checks are made. If the tourist can provide passport number and details, as well as date of entry, the forces have the ability to check the visa and other details from the immigration department’s systems.

When a tourist without satisfactory identity gets detained, the detaining personnel are authorised to help the tourist locate the passport from where the tourist claims to have left it.

If that doesn’t solve the problem, the tourist can be detained until identity is ascertained and confirmed by the police with co-ordination of the tourist police. The police would also submit a files record to the relevant embassy.

Actually an obvious tourist is seldom checked unless acting suspiciously. But given the current situation tourists could be subjected to body and baggage checks, as well being asked for passport.

Emergency contacts

If you are tourist needing any help from the police while in Sri Lanka you can dial 1912 or 0112421451

Last Modified: April 16, 2024