Asset × Country · Legal Status

Buying US Stocks from Sri Lanka: Rules, Limits, Routes

US SHARESRestricted REGULATORCentral Bank of Sri Lanka CANBORSAAvailable

Sri Lanka limits resident foreign investment to $200,000 per year.

NVIDIA · NVDA-PERPUS equity · from Sri Lanka

Price · 24h—

Max leverage20x

Funding · APR—

From Sri LankaAvailable

Canborsa fee0.07% per side

Trade NVDA on Canborsa ›

Sri Lanka · at a glance

Restricted

broker routesBuying US shares from Sri Lanka

us marketsUS names and indices on Canborsa

0.07%

0.14% round-tripCanborsa fee per side

4 rails

4 blockedFunding routes from Sri Lanka

What the law actually says

Access rules in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka limits resident foreign investment to $200,000 per year.

Local routes

John Keells Holdings, Colombo Stock Exchange, Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank.

The perpetual route

A US-equity perpetual tracks the share price and settles in crypto. There is no broker, no remittance and no share: it confers no votes and no dividends, and funding is charged or paid every 1h for as long as the position is open.

Regulator — Sri Lanka

RegulatorCentral Bank of Sri Lanka

Websitewww.cbsl.gov.lk

CryptoRegulated

Access · routes

Three ways to reach a US share price from Sri Lanka

Two routes buy the share. The third buys exposure to its price and nothing else.

01.

Domestic broker with a US partner

Your local broker routes the order to a partner in the United States. You hold real shares with voting and dividend rights, under full identity verification.

Real shares 4 routes

02.

International broker account

You open the account offshore yourself and remit under your country’s rules. Ownership is the same, and the reporting duties sit with you.

Real shares Capital limit applies

03.

Perpetual exposure on Canborsa

A US-equity perpetual tracks the share price and settles in crypto: no broker, no remittance, no share, no votes and no dividends. Funding is charged or paid every 1h while the position is open, and deposits arrive as USDC on six networks.

No ownership 0.07% per side

Rails · funding routes

Rail

Status

Note

Local debit and credit cards (EFTCs)

BLOCKED

CBSL bars EFTCs from foreign-currency crypto payments under Foreign Exchange Regulations, still in force per its June 2026 FAQ.

Bank transfer abroad

BLOCKED

CBSL treats buying crypto abroad as a Foreign Exchange Act violation since virtual currencies are not a permitted investment category.

Domestic LKR bank transfer to a local exchange

BLOCKED

CBSL has licensed no virtual currency exchange in Sri Lanka, so no domestic rail has a lawful destination.

USDT P2P

BLOCKED

CBSL's notice covers crypto dealing broadly with no regulatory safeguards, and peer-to-peer stablecoin trading is not a permitted category.

Availability · route 03

US markets listed on Canborsa

23 US markets trade as perpetuals on Canborsa — 21 single names and 2 index contracts, all open from Sri Lanka. Each one is a contract on the price.

Market

Class

Price

24h

Market cap

Max leverage

NVDANVIDIA

US equity

—

—

$5.29T

20x

AAPLApple

US equity

—

—

$4.67T

20x

GOOGLAlphabet

US equity

—

—

$4.03T

20x

MSFTMicrosoft

US equity

—

—

$3.62T

20x

AMZNAmazon

US equity

—

—

$2.71T

20x

SPCXSpaceX

US equity

—

—

$2.04T

20x

METAMeta

US equity

—

—

$1.67T

20x

TSLATesla

US equity

—

—

$1.43T

20x

MUMicron Technology

US equity

—

—

$1.12T

20x

AMDAMD

US equity

—

—

$832.59B

10x

INTCIntel

US equity

—

—

$531.55B

20x

ORCLOracle

US equity

—

—

$455.37B

10x

PLTRPalantir

US equity

—

—

$398.98B

10x

SNDKSandisk

US equity

—

—

$248.1B

20x

MRVLMarvell Technology

US equity

—

—

$202.03B

20x

HOODRobinhood Markets

US equity

—

—

$101.12B

10x

NBISNebius Group

US equity

—

—

$64.26B

10x

MSTRStrategy (MicroStrategy)

US equity

—

—

$49.78B

10x

CBRSCerebras Systems

US equity

—

—

$45.85B

10x

COINCoinbase Global

US equity

—

—

$45.2B

10x

CRCLCircle Internet Group

US equity

—

—

$22.92B

10x

SP500S&P 500

Index

—

—

—

30x

XYZ100Nasdaq 100

Index

—

—

—

20x

Tax · by route

Tax

Shares held through a broker

Crypto-settled perpetuals

Tax in Sri LankaCapital gains tax rate for individuals is 10%

What you holdA contract on the share price

Funding · APR—

Frequently asked questions

Can residents of Sri Lanka buy US stocks?›

Yes. Sri Lankan residents can buy and own US stocks through international brokerages.

Which broker is best for Sri Lankan residents trading US stocks?›

Interactive Brokers is rated the best broker for Sri Lankan residents trading US stocks.

Are there limits on sending money abroad from Sri Lanka?›

Outward remittances for overseas investments such as shares go through an Outward Investment Account, and remittances through personal foreign currency accounts are limited to USD 20,000 or equivalent.

Are capital gains on US stocks taxed for Sri Lankan residents?›

There is no capital gains tax in Sri Lanka.

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