Maldives
The Maldives is an archipelagic nation in the Indian Ocean made up of 1,192 coral islands grouped into 26 ring-shaped atolls and stretching some 800 km north to south, southwest of Sri Lanka and India. It is the world's lowest country by elevation — average ground level around 1.5 m above sea level — and an internationally recognised voice on climate adaptation and sea-level resilience. The capital, Malé, is one of the most densely populated cities on the planet, packed onto a 2-square-kilometre island, and serves as the main hub for transfers to the resort and guesthouse islands. The roughly 540,000 inhabitants are Sunni Muslim — Islam is the state religion — and speak Dhivehi, an Indo-Aryan language related to Sinhala; English is widely used in tourism, government and business. Tourism, the country's main industry, follows a distinctive “one island, one resort” model, with locally run guesthouse islands opening a more affordable, culturally engaged side of the country since 2009 reforms. A free visa on arrival is granted to citizens of every country, with no advance application required.
Visa Requirements for Maldives
The Maldives operates one of the most open visa policies in the world: a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival is granted to citizens of every country, with no advance application, no fee and no nationality-based discrimination. The visa is stamped at immigration on arrival at Velana International Airport (MLE) on Hulhulé island, opposite Malé, and takes only a few minutes to issue. Requirements are straightforward: a passport valid for at least one month from the date of arrival (most resorts and airlines insist on six months as a precaution), a confirmed booking at a registered resort, hotel or guesthouse for the duration of the stay, sufficient funds demonstrable by card or cash if asked, and a return or onward ticket. The mandatory IMUGA online traveller declaration must be completed within 96 hours before arrival at imuga.immigration.gov.mv — a short health and accommodation form that has replaced the paper arrival card. Extensions to a total of 90 days are available at the Department of Immigration in Malé before the 30-day visa expires for an additional fee. A separate Green Tax is charged via the accommodation, at a reduced rate for smaller guesthouses on inhabited islands — confirm the current rate with your booking, as it is periodically revised. The Maldives does not issue tourist visas in advance abroad — every visitor comes in on the visa-on-arrival, regardless of nationality. The system is engineered around tourism, which generates roughly two-thirds of foreign-exchange earnings. One customs rule travels with these entry rules and is worth knowing before you pack: importing alcohol is prohibited outright, and any bottles found in checked or hand luggage are confiscated at the airport and held for collection on departure rather than returned to you at the desk.
Visa types
Free Visa on Arrival (30 Days)
Tourism for citizens of every country in the world — the Maldives' universal visa-free-on-arrival policy is the most open in tourism.
Visa Extension (Up to 90 Days Total)
Tourists wishing to extend their stay beyond the initial 30 days, to a maximum of 90 days in country.
Resort, Marine & Diving Work Permit
Long-term work at resorts, dive centres, surf camps, liveaboards and tourism services — the largest non-Maldivian workforce category in the country.
Business & Special-Purpose Visa
Short business visits, technical assignments, conferences, investor visits and other non-tourist purposes that go beyond the standard 30-day tourist visa.
Guides
The Maldives is built around a few clear travel formats — a high-end resort week on a single island, a budget guesthouse-island stay, a liveaboard dive cruise across the atolls, or a surf trip to the central atoll breaks — and each is surprisingly different in feel and cost. Diving is the country's signature draw, complemented by some of the most consistent warm-water beaches anywhere and a distinctly two-tier culture between resort islands and inhabited local islands.
Maldives travel guide →
The full guide — resort, guesthouse or liveaboard as the real decision, the diving and surf mechanisms and the format-first plan.
Money in Maldives →
Dollars versus rufiyaa, capital-only cash and the two-Maldives cost split — the practical money guide.
Eating in Maldives →
Tuna, coconut and the tea shop — the geology that chose the ingredients, hedhikaa short eats and the dishes worth ordering by name.
Getting around Maldives →
Speedboat, seaplane or ferry — why distance picks for you, the daylight rule and the involuntary Malé overnight.
Health & safety in Maldives →
Distance as the risk that defines the others, the dive chamber and no-fly rule, sun and the water itself.
Cities & planning
Plan your trip
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Regions
Embassies & missions
Europe · 1
Accredited missions for Maldives
Argentine Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Austrian Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Chilean Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Colombian Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Mexican Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Namibian High Commission in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Peruvian Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Embassy of Poland in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Swedish Embassy in New Delhi
Based in New Delhi, India
Frequently asked questions
Why do Maldivian resorts each occupy their own island?
It's a direct result of geography and policy: with limited inhabited islands and a strong cultural separation between resort life and local Muslim communities, the “one island, one resort” model became the standard way to develop tourism without disrupting island life — it's also why resorts can serve alcohol and allow relaxed dress while local islands can't.
Do I need to choose between diving and surfing in the Maldives?
Not necessarily, but logistics matter — the best surf breaks cluster in the central atolls near Malé, while the best diving (mantas, whale sharks, channel dives) is spread across atolls further afield, so a single-resort trip may favour one over the other; a liveaboard or multi-island itinerary can combine both.
What changed in the Maldives in 2009?
A national tourism policy reform legalised guesthouses on inhabited local islands for the first time, opening a much more affordable side of the country almost overnight — islands like Maafushi built entire guesthouse economies within a few years of the change.
Is a liveaboard cruise better than a resort stay?
They serve different goals — a resort offers a fixed base with amenities and easy logistics, while a liveaboard reaches remote atolls resorts can't support, following the best diving conditions month to month; serious divers often prefer liveaboards, while first-time visitors and honeymooners usually prefer a resort.
Is Malé worth visiting, or should I go straight to my resort?
Most visitors skip it entirely since resort transfers depart straight from the airport island, but a half-day stop at the Friday Mosque, National Museum and Local Market shows a side of the Maldives — a dense, functioning capital — that no resort island offers.
Why is Maldivian diving considered near-guaranteed compared to other destinations?
The atolls' channel geography funnels nutrient-rich currents through predictable points, concentrating manta rays and whale sharks at specific sites and times rather than scattering them across open ocean, which is why sightings at places like Hanifaru Bay are unusually reliable.
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