Maldives Grants Tourist Visa For Passports with Validity of Just a Month

Great news! Maldives Immigration has reduced the passport validity requirement for tourist visa of minimum 6 months to just 1 month.

Tourist visa is granted for all nationalities on arrival to Maldives. As such, a foreigner travelling to Maldives as a tourist does not require pre-approval for the visa. However, the person must satisfy the basic entry requirements to get immigration clearance upon arrival.

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The basic entry requirements are as follows;

1. A passport or a travel document with Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) with at least 6 months validity. [Changes being made to general entry requirements to Maldives due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), effective from 1st of July 2020. Foreign Passports holders passport and other documents accepted for entry must be valid for a minimum of 01 month (30 days) from the arrival date].
2. A pre-paid hotel booking/accommodation.
3. Sufficient funds to last for the intended period of stay in Maldives.
4. Confirmed onward/return tickets to home country or to country of residence (not applicable for valid resident permit holders).
5. Entry facilities to their onward destinations; for example, the visa.
6. Traveler Health Declaration (THD) must be filled in and submitted by all travelers travelling to and from Maldives, within 24 hours prior to their travel. You may submit the form electronically via http://imuga.immigration.gov.mv
7. Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate, if applicable.
8. COVID-19 negative PCR test result, attached while completing Traveler Health Declaration form (sample taken 96 hours prior to departure to Maldives, counting from the first port of embarkation en-route to the Maldives).

The maximum number of days granted on arrival would be 30 days, unless agreed by any bilateral means or treaty. This period of stay is not for the visitor to claim, but lies at the discretion of the Maldives Immigration to grant any number of days less than or equal to 30.

The period of stay granted is shown on the endorsement in the passport. Visitors are advised to check their passport for the arrival endorsement and take note of the number of days granted to stay in Maldives. Once arrived as a tourist, the visitor is not permitted to engage in any form of business, occupation, profession or paid employment while in Maldives.

Categories like; social visitors, friends, family visitors or media and business visitors, who are not considered as genuine tourists, are highly advised to declare sponsorship prior to their arrivals (if applicable), in order to facilitate the flow of passage.

All travelers are also reminded that it is a punishable offence to overstay in Maldives beyond the number of days given.

On December 2020, Maldives will also launch its own loyalty program — a first for a country. “Maldives Border Miles” program is the first of its kind loyalty program developed in the entire world for tourists.

This program is a 3-tiered loyalty program for tourists. Tourists who enroll in this program will earn points based on the number of visits and duration of stay. Additional points will be awarded for visits to celebrate special occasions. There are three categories in this program:

– Aida (bronze tier)
– Anantara (silver tier)
– Abaarana (gold tier).

Each tier will be defined by a set variety of rewards, services or benefits, which increase in value as members progress.

The Maldives Border Miles is a tourism promotion program initiated by Maldives Immigration, and developed with joint stakeholders, who also joined the ceremony; Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).