🇲🇻Maldives

Decision flow

Every foreign tourist goes through the following decision scheme to verify their entry regime and obtain permission to stay in the Maldives:

1. Nationality restrictions: Travelers must first check that they do not hold an Israeli passport. Since 15 April 2025 such persons are under an absolute ban on entering the territory of the Maldives.
2. Visa-free assessment (VF): Check whether your country has a valid bilateral visa-waiver agreement. Citizens of India, Russia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Azerbaijan (from 29 April 2026) qualify for visa-free stays of up to 90 days. Citizens of China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and the Seychelles (from 15 May 2026) qualify for visa-free stays of up to 30 days.
3. Visa on arrival (VOA): If the traveler's country is not covered by a visa-waiver agreement (which is the case for most nationalities), a free visa on arrival applies, valid for a maximum of 30 days.
4. Purpose check (Meeting Visa): If the primary purpose is a conference, seminar or business meeting, a free 14-day visa on arrival (Meeting Visa) can be granted since 14 May 2023. It requires an official invitation and confirmed accommodation in a registered facility.
5. Passport technical requirements: The passport must have a machine-readable zone (MRZ). Passports with artificially extended validity are not accepted. Minimum passport validity is 1 month from the date of entry.

Entry formalities common to everyone

Every arriving foreigner must complete the following official procedures without exception:

• IMUGA registration: All travelers (including children and infants) must electronically submit the Traveller Declaration form. It is filled in exclusively on the official government site imuga.immigration.gov.mv. The submission deadline is strictly 96 hours before arrival in the Maldives. The system generates a QR code that must be shown digitally or printed at flight check-in and at immigration. The service is entirely free.
• Proof of accommodation: Travelers must show a booking confirmation for a registered tourist facility (resort, hotel, guesthouse or safari boat) covering the entire planned stay. Staying with local residents without an approved sponsored visa from the immigration office is prohibited.
• Funds: On request, travelers must show they hold at least 100 to 150 USD per person per day of stay. Cash, payment cards or a bank statement count as proof.
• Yellow fever vaccination: An international vaccination certificate is required from everyone older than 1 year who, in the 6 days before arrival, stayed in areas with endemic yellow fever or transited through them for more than 12 hours.
• Currency Declaration: All travelers must complete a customs declaration on the IMUGA portal before arrival; importing or exporting cash above the equivalent of 10,000 USD (about 154,200 MVR) must be declared. Importing alcohol, pork, pornography, weapons and religious symbols intended for public promotion is strictly prohibited, and customs confiscates such items without compensation.

What matters in practice

Travelers most often run into the following snags and risks when entering the Maldives:

• Fake IMUGA websites: Deceptive commercial sites visually imitate the state portal and charge fees for the free Traveller Declaration. Fill in the form only via the .gov.mv domain.
• Recommended six-month passport validity: Although Maldivian immigration rules allow entry with a passport valid just 1 month beyond arrival, most international airlines apply the general 6-month rule. Travelers with shorter validity are frequently denied boarding at the departure airport.
• Passport condition: Maldivian officials are extremely uncompromising about physical damage. Torn pages, a split binding or a damaged machine-readable zone (MRZ) lead to immediate refusal of entry and deportation. Traveling on a passport once reported lost or stolen and later found is also banned.
• Overstay consequences: Staying illegally after the visa expires is punished severely. The fine is 500 to 3000 MVR depending on the overstay length, and in serious cases the very first day of overstay can be penalized with a fine of up to 1,000 USD (about 15,420 MVR). Deportation at your own expense and a long entry ban follow.

• Alcohol may not be brought into the country in any quantity. Bottles are taken at Velana airport, held in bond and handed back at departure. The resorts are licensed and serve their own; what you carry never reaches them.
• Anything deemed contrary to Islam is prohibited, and the official list names idols for worship, bibles and pork products alongside alcohol.
• Buying duty-free on the way in is pointless for the same reason, and the arrivals shop knows it.
• Cash above the declarable threshold must be reported on arrival.
• Coral and shells may not be taken out. They are protected, the penalty applies to a pocketful as much as to a crate, and the resort will tell you the same thing.
• Drones need permission and are held at the airport without it.

Health, insurance and where to be treated

• Vaccinations and diseases: Only yellow-fever vaccination is mandatory, and only when arriving from an endemic area. Standard travel vaccinations are recommended (hepatitis A and B, tetanus, typhoid). Mosquito-borne dengue fever occurs year-round, so repellents with a high DEET content are essential. No malaria cases have been recorded in recent years (unverified).
• Drinking water: Tap water on all islands comes from desalination plants and is not drinkable. Drinking it causes severe intestinal problems. Use only bottled water for drinking and hygiene (including brushing teeth).
• Medical facilities for foreigners:
• ADK Hospital (Malé): The largest and best-equipped private hospital in the capital, with a 24/7 emergency department, modern cardiology, orthopedics and intensive care.
• Tree Top Hospital (Hulhumalé): A top private hospital of European standard, close to the airport, offering the full spectrum of care including an emergency department. The reception phone number is +960 335 1610.
• Travel insurance: The Maldives does not require insurance as an entry condition. A solid policy covering medical costs and repatriation is nonetheless absolutely essential - evacuation from outer atolls to Malé hospitals by seaplane or speedboat is extremely expensive and will not happen without a payment guarantee.

A country with one temperature

The table above barely moves: 27-29 °C by day, 26-27 °C at night, all year. Nothing about packing changes between January and July, and the shoulder-season logic that governs most destinations does not apply.

What does change is rain, and it changes a lot:

What the wet season actually costs you

Not sunshine. A wet-season day in the Maldives is usually a sunny day with a squall in it - the rain arrives quickly, empties itself and leaves. What it does affect:

• Crossings. Speedboat transfers to outer atolls are rougher, and seaplanes are grounded by weather more often. This is worth knowing when a connection is tight.
• Underwater visibility, which is the reason divers pay attention to the season at all.
• Price. The wet months are considerably cheaper, and for a trip built around a single resort island that trade is often worth making.

Accommodation

• Hulhumalé (Phase 1 & Phase 2): An artificial island connected to the airport by bridge. The practical choice for the first night, especially when the plane lands after the last onward seaplane of the day. Calm, with a city beach and a wide choice of transit hotels. The national alcohol ban applies here in full, except for the licensed Hulhulé Island Hotel on airport grounds.
• Malé (centre): The extremely densely populated capital. Suitable mainly for travellers with meetings or a quick sightseeing plan; heavy noise and traffic.
• Inhabited islands (e.g. Maafushi, Thulusdhoo): For independent, lower-budget travellers going straight from the airport to a local island by public MTCC ferry, staying in family-run guesthouses.

(Room rates vary widely by season and booking lead time - check current listings rather than a fixed range.)

Accommodation law and taxes. At check-in the host scans your passport and registers you in the immigration system. On top of the advertised base room price, three charges are added by law:

1. Tourism GST (TGST) - 17% on accommodation and tourism services, raised from 16% on 1 July 2025 under the 7th amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act. Confirmed on the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority's own GST page.
2. Service charge - a mandatory 10%.
3. Green Tax - since 1 January 2025, USD 12 per person per night at tourist resorts, integrated resorts, resort hotels, and any hotel or guesthouse that is either on an uninhabited island or has more than 50 registered rooms. The lower rate of USD 6 per person per night applies only to a tourist guesthouse on an inhabited island with 50 or fewer registered rooms. Both rates are per person and apply to children as well. Confirmed on MIRA's own Green Tax page.

SIM and eSIM: what to buy right after arrival

Get a local tourist SIM at Velana. Both national operators sell one in the arrivals hall, and their plans are sized for a diving holiday rather than a city break. An international eSIM bought before you fly is the alternative if you would rather not queue, but the Maldives catalogue for those is thin and expensive per gigabyte.

• International travel eSIM - bought and configured before departure, live the moment you land, with no passport scan at a counter. Maldives plans from the international providers are small and priced per gigabyte well above the local tourist packs, so treat one as a bridge for the first hour rather than a replacement.
• Physical SIM at the airport - technically the most stable option, with full access to the local 4G and 5G networks. It pays off for longer stays, but registration is in person with a passport at the counter, and at peak arrival times the queue runs 30–50 minutes.
• Roaming - completely unsuitable in the Maldives because of extreme data charges. Keep it active only to receive free authorization SMS messages.

Comparison table

The following table compares the most relevant mobile plans available to tourists as of July 2026:

Where exactly to buy

• Velana International Airport (MLE) - the official sales stands are in the arrivals hall immediately past the customs zone. The Ooredoo kiosk sits in the central part of the hall; the Dhiraagu kiosk is to the right of the exit. Both airport branches match their opening hours to the flight schedule and serve late-night arrivals, and you can pay in USD, MVR or by card.
• Brand stores in town - the flagship Experience Centers are in the capital Malé on the Majeedhee Magu shopping street and on the neighbouring island of Hulhumalé. Buying there takes longer because of resident-registration paperwork, but standard non-tourist plans can be cheaper.
• Online eSIM platforms - buy directly through the Saily app or website. A configuration QR code arrives by e-mail after payment.

Short verdict

• Staying up to 7 days: an international eSIM bought before departure, e.g. Saily. It removes the queue after a long flight and lets you reach your hotel or transfer immediately.
• Staying more than 10 days, heading to remote atolls, or a demanding user: a physical Dhiraagu SIM bought at the airport. It has the most stable and fastest infrastructure in the country's outlying regions.

Sockets in the Maldives are Type G at 230 V, 50 Hz in almost every resort, with Type D, J, K and L surviving in older buildings.

• Resorts are British-standard. The three-pin Type G socket is what a water villa has, and most resorts keep adapters at reception.
• Male and the local islands are less consistent, with round-pin Danish, Swiss and Italian sockets left from decades of imported fittings.
• A Europlug fits some of those older sockets but nothing in a Type G room without an adapter.
• 230 V, so American 120 V-only appliances need a converter.
• Guesthouse islands run on diesel generators and voltage sags when the desalination plant starts.

Local rules and cultural differences

The Maldives is a strictly Islamic country where sharia shapes everyday legislation. Breaking the rules is punished hard:

• Importing and consuming alcohol: Importing any amount of alcohol for personal use is illegal. Alcohol is strictly prohibited on all inhabited islands (including Malé and Hulhumalé). Its sale and consumption are legal only in resorts holding a special state licence.
• Dress and conduct: In public spaces on inhabited islands, both men and women must cover shoulders and knees. Swimming in bikinis and regular swimwear is allowed only on beaches marked Bikini Beach. Topless sunbathing and nudism are illegal everywhere in the country without exception. Public displays of affection are banned and fined as public indecency.
• Photography and drones: Photographing military installations, government buildings and mosques is prohibited. Journalism or commercial filming on a tourist visa is illegal and leads to deportation. Drone use is tightly regulated, with no-fly zones around airports and many resorts.
• Places of worship: Mosques may be entered only with a guide and outside prayer times, with the body fully covered and shoes removed.

Everyday practical information

• Power sockets: Type G, the British three-flat-pin standard, at 230 V / 50 Hz. In guesthouses on local islands you will need an adapter; hotels lend them only in limited numbers.
• Time zone: UTC+5, with no daylight saving. Many luxury resorts run their own unofficial Resort Island Time, shifted one to two hours ahead of Malé to give guests more afternoon daylight - check which clock your resort runs on, because it governs your transfer time.
• Working week and holidays: The official working week runs Sunday to Thursday; Friday and Saturday are the weekend. State offices open Sunday to Thursday, roughly 8:30 to 13:30. During Ramadan, shop and restaurant hours on inhabited islands are sharply reduced.
• Public toilets: The airport and larger hotels have European-standard toilets. On local islands and in harbours, squat toilets with a bidet spray prevail.
• Wi-Fi availability: Free Wi-Fi is common in hotels and cafés, but speed and stability outside the main atolls tend to be very low.

Money and payments

• Currency and rates: The official currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR). The rufiyaa is pegged to the US dollar, and the Bank of Maldives sells dollars at 1 USD = 15.42 MVR - a rate that has been fixed rather than floating, so it does not move with the market the way most currencies do. The US dollar is universally accepted as a parallel currency in resorts, hotels and restaurants.
• ATM withdrawals: Bank of Maldives (BML) ATMs are at the airport, in Malé and in Hulhumalé. Foreign-card withdrawals carry a fixed fee of about 10 USD per withdrawal, and single-withdrawal limits are low, so take out larger amounts less often rather than the reverse.
• Decline Dynamic Currency Conversion. Terminals in resorts and transit hotels often offer to settle in your card's home currency. Choose the local currency (MVR or USD) instead: letting the terminal convert hands the exchange rate to the merchant's bank, which is reliably worse than your own card network's.
• Exchanging cash: Change money only at licensed bank counters at the airport or at branches in Malé. Street changers offer better-looking rates and carry a real risk of invalid banknotes.
• Cashless payments: Cards are standard in resorts and transit hotels. On inhabited islands outside the main tourist centres, and in small local shops, cash is indispensable.
• Tipping: Not expected, because a mandatory 10% service charge is added to every bill by law. For luggage porters, 1 to 2 USD per bag is the unwritten standard.

• Solo traveler on a low budget: The best value is the public R4 airport bus to Hulhumalé for 15 MVR or the airport dhoni ferry to Malé for 15 MVR.
• Family with children: Download the Avas Ride app and order a Van (7–10 seats). The official 125–130 MVR fare guarantees a safe, spacious transfer with no haggling with drivers at the airport ranks.
• Late-night arrival (after 22:00): A road taxi (ideally via Avas Ride) is the only realistic option. Ferry and bus frequencies drop sharply at night and long waits are likely.
• Low budget: For moving between Malé and Hulhumalé, the regular MTCC bus (routes R2 or R8) at a flat 15 MVR is the best deal.

• Public transport: Between Malé, Hulhumalé Phase 1 and Phase 2 the state company MTCC runs a dense network of bus routes and ferries. The fare on both buses and ferries is 15 MVR. Pay cash to the driver or buy a QR ticket at the terminal.
• Ride-hailing apps:
• Avas Ride (iOS, Android): The dominant local app. Registration needs a phone number (international prefixes are supported for receiving the SMS). You enter a destination, the app finds the nearest free taxi and shows the state-regulated price. Payment is cash only, to the driver at the end of the ride, in MVR or USD.
• Malé Taxi Line (iOS): The official app launched by MTCC in April 2026. It works the same way and books MTCC state vehicles directly; payment can also be made by card online in the app.

There is nothing to drive. The country is 1,200 islands and transfers are by boat or seaplane.

• Male and Hulhumale have roads and a bridge between them; every other island is reached by speedboat, ferry or seaplane.
• Resorts are single islands crossed on foot or by buggy, and they arrange the transfer from the airport as part of the booking.
• Motorbikes are the main vehicle in Male, which is one of the most densely populated cities on earth.
• The alcohol limit is zero. Alcohol is prohibited outside resort islands entirely.
• Plan transfers around daylight. Seaplanes do not fly after dark, which constrains late arrivals into Male.

Safety and the most common scams

The Maldives has an exceptionally low rate of violent crime. What does occur is property-related and concentrated where tourists arrive:

• Taxi overcharging at Velana airport: Drivers at the arrivals terminal ignore the state-mandated fares and demand unofficial surcharges from foreigners, or payment in dollars at a punitive rate. The defence is to book through the Avas Ride app, where the price is fixed to the regulated tariff.
• Fake IMUGA portals: Fraudulent websites charge a "fee" for submitting the mandatory Traveller Declaration. The official registration is free and happens only on the government's own domain - if a site asks for money to file it, it is not the real one.
• Scooter and equipment rental disputes on local islands: Operators on some inhabited islands have been reported to demand compensation on return for damage or scratches that pre-dated the rental. Photograph the vehicle in detail before you take it, which settles the argument before it starts.
• Higher-risk situations: In Malé, avoid political gatherings and street protests, which can end in police intervention.

Distance is the medical risk

Nothing about the Maldives is dangerous in the way a guidebook warns about. The risk is geography: a country of small islands where the only fully equipped hospitals are in Malé and Hulhumalé, and where a resort that looks close on a map is a boat ride and a transfer away.

That reshapes what preparation means:

• Ask at check-in who the resort's doctor is, what hours they keep, and what the island's evacuation arrangement is. Every resort has an answer; almost no guest asks before they need it.
• Know that a seaplane is daylight-only. After dark, the option is a speedboat, and the crossing takes what it takes.
• Keep your insurer's 24-hour number on your phone, not in an email. On a resort island the wifi is fine and your data roaming may not be.

The money question comes first, unfortunately

An evacuation to Malé is expensive and is not dispatched on goodwill: the operator wants a guarantee of payment, and that guarantee comes from your insurer. This is the single practical reason to buy cover with medical evacuation in it for a trip here, and to carry the policy number where someone else could find it.

If you dive, check that your policy covers it to the depth you actually dive to, and that it includes recompression treatment and evacuation. Standard travel insurance frequently excludes both.