Work and residence
Department of Immigration and Emigration ↗Open the public source and locate the service for your nationality, intended activity and exact destination. A visitor visa is not evidence that employment is permitted.
DESTINATION STARTING GUIDE
Working in Sri Lanka
Your route depends on nationality, occupation, qualification country and the region where you will work. Use the named public authority below to identify the applicable employment and residence procedure before paying for assessment or travel.
Start with the right authority
Qualifications and professional registration
Published recognition / assessment procedureUniversity Grants Commission — recognition request ↗The UGC provides a request service for recognition of foreign universities, alongside other recognition categories. Select the category for the actual award and institution. A university-recognition letter is not the same decision as professional registration or work permission.
How to read these sources →Academic assessment, professional permission and immigration are separate decisions. A reference labelled “referral”, “policy” or “territorial context” is not an individual application or an approval.
Your preparation checklist
Ticked items stay in this browser. These are preparation questions, not a declaration that you meet the legal requirements.
What to ask for your profession
Healthcare
Ask the regulator about registration, recognised training, clinical experience, language evidence and professional good standing. Academic equivalence alone does not establish permission to practise.
Teaching and childcare
Identify the school system and age group. Ask about teacher registration, subject qualification, safeguarding checks and the accepted language evidence.
Engineering, construction and trades
Check whether the exact activity, protected title, site role or safety responsibility requires a local licence. Ask who can sign off work and whether supervised practice is possible.
Law and financial services
Confirm the reserved activities and professional body. Ask about local examinations, ethics requirements, supervised practice and any restrictions on giving advice.
Technology, business and hospitality
Ask the employer what qualification evidence it accepts and check whether any specific activity is licensed. An unregulated job can still require work permission and local employment registrations.
Prepare the evidence once
Create a private folder with qualification names, awarding institutions, transcripts, course descriptions, employment references and existing registrations. Ask the receiving authority which originals, certified copies, translations and legalisation it actually needs. Police, medical and language evidence may be requested for particular routes; do not assume every item is mandatory. Do not send sensitive documents to RouteWeave.
Before you spend money
Get the accepted assessment route and current official fees in writing. Compare an offer with the employer’s registered identity. Keep copies of submissions and receipts, and ask about review or appeal if an application is refused. RouteWeave does not guarantee a visa, job or recognition decision.