Sri Lanka

Penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking illegal drugs in Sri Lanka are severe; convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Cannabis is illegal in Sri Lanka, and there is no legal amount and no personal-use exception. Possessing, using, growing or bringing in any part of the cannabis plant is a crime - even less than 1 kilogram is punishable by one to two years in prison plus a fine, and cannabis was the single biggest category of drug arrests in 2024, with over 75,000 people arrested. CBD counts too: cannabis extracts and tinctures are listed as dangerous drugs and it is illegal to bring any cannabis preparation into the country, so leave CBD oil, vapes and gummies at home - airport scanners are used on transiting passengers as well as arrivals. One definition is worth knowing before you travel: the Ordinance provides that anything in a person's order, disposition, power or control is deemed to be in their possession, so a bag in your car, a package someone asked you to carry, or a room you hold the key to can be treated as yours.

Under Part III of the Third Schedule to the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, as substituted by Act No. 41 of 2022, penalties for trafficking, possessing, importing or exporting cannabis are banded by quantity: less than 1 kilogram — a fine of not less than 20,000 rupees and not exceeding 50,000 rupees and imprisonment of not less than one year and not exceeding two years, or both; 1 kilogram to less than 5 kilograms — a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rupees and two to five years; 5 kilograms to less than 100 kilograms — a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 rupees and five to ten years; 100 kilograms or above — a fine of 200,000 to 500,000 rupees and ten to fifteen years. Cannabis is not in the Ordinance's death-penalty tier, which applies to opium and to morphine, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Transit is criminalised in its own right rather than merely caught by the import offence: section 70(1) makes it unlawful to carry a "restricted article" through Sri Lanka, its territorial waters or any port, with or without transhipment or unshipment, or to bring it into those waters or a port with a view to carrying it through — and section 69 defines restricted articles to include the hemp plant, its seeds, pods, leaves, flowers and any part or preparation of it, together with the resin and the preparations known as bhang, hashish and ganja. Section 28 separately forbids importing or bringing in any part or preparation of the plant outright, with no quantity threshold, and a contravention makes the article liable to seizure and forfeiture under the Customs Ordinance as if it were a prohibited import (s.72).

Verified Sep 16, 2026

Carry prescription medication in original packaging with a prescription; counterfeit medication is common, so buy only from reputable establishments with medical guidance.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Weapons, ammunition, and explosives are prohibited items that may not be brought into Sri Lanka.

Criminal penalties.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

The maximum cash that may be brought into Sri Lanka is USD 15,000; the maximum that may be taken out is USD 10,000.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Sri Lanka prohibits importing e-cigarettes, vaping devices, weapons, ammunition, explosives, gold, narcotics, and pornography; unlicensed export of antiques is also a criminal act.

Criminal penalties.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Cap yourself at two regular-size bottles of wine plus 1.5 litres of spirits - that is the entire tourist alcohol allowance. The larger resident allowance (2.5 L liquor, 2 L wine) does not apply to visitors. Declare anything above it to the Customs officer on arrival.

A knowingly or wilfully false or inaccurate declaration forfeits all exemptions under the regulations, and the passenger is liable to be dealt with under the provisions of the Customs Ordinance.

Verified Sep 2, 2026

E-cigarettes and vaping devices are explicitly prohibited items that must not be brought into Sri Lanka.

Criminal penalties under prohibited-items law.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Sri Lanka publishes no duty-free tobacco allowance for arriving travellers. The official permissible-baggage schedule gives quantities for wine, beer and spirits but has no entry at all for cigarettes, cigars or tobacco — assume anything you carry is taxable and declarable. Separately, smoking in any enclosed public place is a criminal offence carrying a fine, prison, or both.

TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONSEQUENCE. Smoking in an enclosed public place is a genuine penal offence: NATA Act s.39(4) — on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, "a fine not exceeding two thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment." Carrying tobacco through customs is by contrast a TAX consequence, not a penalty: no allowance is published, so duty, Ports & Airports Levy and Excise are assessed at normal tariff rates. A knowingly false declaration is separately actionable under the Customs Ordinance.

Verified Sep 1, 2026

Driving is on the left in Sri Lanka; many visitors hire a car with driver, and if using a tuk-tuk agree the price first or use a working meter. Request seatbelts when renting as they may be absent.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Photography is prohibited in designated high-security zones and near many government and military installations (restrictions not always posted); drones are restricted near sites like the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and military installations.

Criminal penalties.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Buy your SIM in person with your passport - anonymous SIMs do not exist, and the operator must cut the line if your documents are not filed within a month of activation. Leave signal jammers, walkie-talkies and satellite phones at home: a 2024 amendment made merely possessing radio-frequency emitting apparatus without a TRCSL licence an offence, punishable by up to three years.

Offences under s.22 (and s.19(1)): on conviction by a Magistrate, a fine of not less than LKR 50,000 and not exceeding LKR 10,000,000, or imprisonment of either description for not less than six months and not exceeding three years, or both; plus LKR 2,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction - s.44(1) of the 1991 Act as replaced by s.29(1) of Act No. 39 of 2024. Wilful interference with a licensed system or licensed apparatus (new s.46A): a fine not exceeding LKR 5,000,000.

Verified Sep 2, 2026

Same-sex sexual relationships and marriages are criminalized in Sri Lanka.

Maximum penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine.

Verified Jul 7, 2026

Posing for a photo with your back to a Buddha statue is a serious offense in Sri Lanka, and displaying religious images such as Buddha tattoos may result in arrest or denial of entry.

Fines, arrest, or denial of entry for Buddha tattoos.

Verified Jul 7, 2026