What documents do I need to enter the Maldives?

Entering the Maldives - what you need

The Maldives keeps entry simple, and most of the paperwork is done from your phone. Book your resort or guesthouse on trip1 before you travel, because a prepaid confirmed booking is an entry condition here rather than a nice extra.

• A machine-readable passport with at least one month of validity, although airlines and transit countries usually expect more.
• A completed traveller declaration submitted on the official IMUGA portal.
• A prepaid confirmed booking at a registered tourist facility, which your trip1 confirmation shows.
• A return or onward ticket, plus a complete travel itinerary.
• Enough money to cover your stay, which an officer can ask you to demonstrate.
• A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present.

The IMUGA traveller declaration

IMUGA is the official Maldives Immigration portal, and the traveller declaration on it is free. Any site charging you a fee to submit it is not run by Maldives Immigration.

You can complete the form up to 96 hours, or four days, before you arrive. A second declaration is submitted in the same window before you depart, so keep the site bookmarked for the end of your trip.

Fill it in with the exact passport details you are travelling on. Once you submit it you get a QR code, and that is what the officer scans at the counter.

Visas and how long you can stay

Tourists of every nationality get a free 30-day visa stamped on arrival, with nothing to apply for beforehand. It is issued at Velana International Airport and the other ports of entry.

If you want to stay longer than 30 days, extensions are handled by Maldives Immigration once you are in the country. Working or running a business on a tourist visa is not allowed.

Conditions can differ depending on your travel document, so check the current rules on the official Maldives Immigration site if you hold anything other than an ordinary passport. Children need their own passport and cannot travel on a parent's document.

Checking in at your resort or guesthouse

Maldivian properties ask for your passport at check-in and record the details, the same as hotels elsewhere. Bring the physical passport rather than a photo of it.

Your trip1 booking confirmation does double duty here. It is the proof of accommodation immigration wants, and it is what the resort desk or the transfer team checks when you land.

Some resorts ask for a payment card at check-in to hold against extras such as diving, spa treatments or dinner. That hold is the property's own policy and is separate from how you paid for the room on trip1.