💬 Visa on arrival confusion cost us four hours at Colombo airport

We were flying to a family holiday with a stop in Colombo. I'd been through that airport 2 years ago. Last time it was quick. Fill a form, pay at the counter, get a stamp, out in 20 minutes. So this time I didn't check anything. My travel agent didn't mention anything either. We walked up to immigration relaxed. The officer looked at our papers and said we needed an online approval first. We had never heard of it. Then came the waiting. They took us to the side and made calls. We stood there for close to 4 hours. My partner sat on a suitcase and stopped talking to me. The next line kept moving because those people had the form. By the time they sorted us out, our connecting flight had already left without us. I wanted to sit on the floor. I still think I should have checked. But nobody told us anything either, not even the agent. The airline was good about it. They put us on the next day's flight and didn't charge anything extra. They also gave us a hotel voucher. The room was small, but I've never been so happy to see a bed. We reached the holiday 1 day late and lost a night of the hotel we'd already paid for there. Nobody complained about that part. Everyone was just glad to be out of that airport. Now I check the entry rules on the official website before every trip, even for places I've been before. A past trip proves nothing. Things change and nobody sends you a message about it. If you're transiting through Colombo or anywhere similar soon, look it up properly first. Don't rely on your agent. We learned that the long way. I still can't look at the word transit without feeling tired.

I had a similar surprise at another airport a few years ago. Right passport, wrong paper. Mine only cost me 2 hours, but the officer was in no hurry and I couldn't argue.

Four hours at a counter with bags is bad enough. Missing the connection on top of it is painful. Did the airline rebook you without any argument?

Same thing nearly happened to us transiting through Colombo last year, pure luck that a friend who had gone through recently mentioned the new online requirement just days before our own scheduled trip there. Airports really should push these changes more visibly somewhere travelers would see them well before arriving rather than only at the counter itself on the day.