Are you planning an exciting trip to the Maldives? If so, are you aware of the visa policies and regulations? Before you plan your trip, it is essential that you also find out whether or not you need a visa to go to the Maldives. The Maldives tourist visa is normally provided on arrival, and you don't have to schedule appointments to get it beforehand. However, for any other reason for travel, you may require a visa.
This article aims to help you understand which type of travel to Maldives will require you to acquire a Maldives visa. So, do you need visa to go to Maldives? Let's find out.
Maldives Tourist Visa
The Maldives tourist visa is for all foreign nationalities worldwide who wish to travel to Maldives to explore it and enjoy the beautiful country. The tourist visas are solely for tourism and do not permit work or business activity.
If you plan to visit the Maldives, you must not apply for a tourist visa beforehand. Tourist visa is provided to all individuals regardless of their nationality. Therefore, you do not need any approval before visiting Maldives. Visitors can easily get a tourist visa on arrival. However, certain basic entry rules and requirements must be fulfilled.
For example, you must have a valid passport or valid travel documents. It would be best if you had a proper travel itinerary, including flight ticket information, hotel booking details or proof of accommodation, proof of sufficient funds, etc. You can provide your sponsorship proof as well as the Maldives immigration.
Four days before you travel, you must also provide the traveler declaration form. Whether you are traveling to Maldives or from it, this must be submitted.
Lastly, you must submit the yellow fever vaccination certificate if it applies to you and you belong to a region where the submission of this certificate is necessary.
The tourist visa you get on arrival allows you to stay in Maldives for 30 days. However, it would be best to remember the tourist visa's purpose and not indulge in any business activities. The Maldives immigration officers will not take it lightly if you are found misusing your visa and pursuing activities not allowed with the tourist visa, such as employment. Moreover, you must respect the amount of stay permitted to you and not overstay in Maldives.
Extending Tourist Visa
The on arrival tourist visa only allows a stay of 30 days. Therefore, you can extend your stay if you wish to stay longer than this designated time. This stay can be extended for an additional 60 days. Before your current on arrival visa expires, you must apply for an extension through the immigration department.
Other Visas
While the tourist visa allows you an arrival facility, that is not true for all other visas. You will be required to apply beforehand for marriage, dependent, work, and business visas, and you cannot receive these visas on arrival in most cases. Therefore for all other visas, you should not rely on a visa on arrival. Apply for the visa before your trip and schedule your trip accordingly.
As you can only get the tourist visa on arrival and as this visa only allows tourist activities, for pursuing employment opportunities or business reasons, you must apply for the work visa or the business visa. There are also other visas, such as the marriage visa and the dependent visa, and to acquire these, you need to apply beforehand too.
Certain visa requirements must be fulfilled for you to acquire the visa. These normally include having a valid passport, travel itineraries such as proof of return flight ticket, and other supporting documents that are a part of entry requirements.
How to Apply for the Maldives Visa?
The process to apply for the Maldives visa is such that you have to, first of all, fill out the Maldives visa application form, then depending on the type of visa you are applying for, you must scan and upload the documents, pay the visa fee and then wait for the processing time stated to receive your visa.
You can either apply by visiting the Maldives embassy, or you can apply online. VisaHQ is a third-party agency that allows individuals to apply for a visa online. If you want to get the visa on arrival, you can search for all the details and requirements for the visa on the site.
After visiting the site, you can select your final destination and home country, and then you can select the visa you want to apply for and fill out the visa application form. After completing the document submission, you should pay the visa and service fees. The VisaHQ process makes it easier to apply for a visa and eliminates the hassle of going to the embassy or consulate.