A jetty to an island resort over turquoise water, Maldives

Who needs a visa for Maldives?

Southern Asia · Malé

Photo: Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Of 198 nationalities, 5 enter Maldives with no paperwork at all. The rest: 192 can get a visa at the border and 1 cannot travel there.

We have not found a Maldives government portal we can link to with confidence, so we link to none — a lookalike is worse than nothing. Apply through Maldives's own immigration service or its embassy.

What do you need?

Who needs what

Visa free 5

Nothing to apply for and nothing to pay before you travel.

Visa on arrival 192

Issued at the border rather than beforehand. Bring the fee in cash in the currency the border post accepts. It is a permission, not a guarantee.

No admission 1

A government policy, not a paperwork problem. No agent or service can work around it.

About Maldives

Region
Southern Asia
Capital
Malé
Population
529,676 2025 · 170th of 197
Size
300 km² 190th largest of 199
Density
1,766 per km²
Language
Maldivian
Currency
Maldivian rufiyaa MVR

Capital, area, languages and currency from the open country dataset, pulled 21 September 2026. Population from the World Bank, series updated 13 July 2026. Density is calculated from the two figures above.