Visa information · For Indian travellers · Updated 2026
Maldives visa for Indians: free 30-day visa on arrival.
Yes — Indian passport holders get a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival at Velana International Airport (MLE). No advance visa, no embassy visit, no fee. The only pre-travel step is the online Traveller Declaration (IMUGA), submitted within 96 hours before you fly. This page documents the entire process — what you need at the airport, the declaration walkthrough, how long you can stay, and the India-specific notes (TCS / LRS, children, OCI).
Do Indians need a visa for the Maldives? No advance visa is needed. Every Indian passport holder is granted a free 30-day visa on arrival — there is no application to lodge and no fee to pay. Just complete the online Traveller Declaration within 96 hours before arrival and bring the documents below.
The process in four steps
How Indian passport-holders enter the Maldives.
- 1
Check passport validity (1+ month, 6 recommended)
Your passport must be valid for at least one month beyond your intended stay — but we strongly recommend at least six months' validity from the date of arrival, both as a buffer and because some onward airlines enforce a six-month rule. If your Indian passport is close to expiry, renew before booking.
- 2
Book a return ticket + confirmed accommodation
Maldives immigration asks for a confirmed return or onward ticket leaving within 30 days, plus confirmed accommodation for the full length of stay. Resortlife issues a single consolidated confirmation covering flights, resort stay and transfers — accepted at Malé immigration. If you book separately, carry both the flight PNR and the hotel confirmation.
- 3
Submit the Traveller Declaration (IMUGA) within 96 hours
Go to imuga.immigration.gov.mv and complete the online Traveller Declaration within 96 hours (3 days) before arrival. It takes about 8–10 minutes — passport details, flight number, accommodation address and a few public-health tick-boxes. You receive a QR code by email; save it to your phone. It is free, with no approval delay. Resortlife files it for clients booking through us.
- 4
Arrive at Velana (MLE) and show your documents
At the immigration counter on arrival: hand over your passport, the return ticket, your accommodation confirmation, proof of funds if asked (a credit card or your prepaid booking confirmation is fine), and scan the IMUGA QR from your phone. The officer stamps a free 30-day entry visa into your passport — usually in 2–4 minutes. Our meet-and-greet team waits at arrivals to route you to your seaplane or speedboat.
What you need at the airport
What you must carry on arrival.
Passport
Valid at least one month beyond your stay; six months recommended.
Return / onward ticket
Confirmed flight leaving the Maldives within 30 days of arrival.
Confirmed accommodation
Resort, guesthouse or cruise booking covering the full length of stay.
Sufficient funds OR prepaid booking
A credit card with adequate limit, cash, or a confirmed prepaid resort booking is accepted as proof.
Traveller Declaration (IMUGA) QR
Filed online within 96 hours before travel. Show it on your phone at immigration.
Travel insurance (recommended)
Not mandatory for the visa, but strongly advised — ideally covering medical evacuation.
The one step travellers miss: the Traveller Declaration.
The visa itself is automatic at the counter — but every arriving traveller must also submit the free online Maldives Traveller Declaration (IMUGA) within 96 hours (3 days) before arrival. It is not a visa application; it is a short immigration and public-health form that returns a QR code you show at Malé. There is no fee and no approval to wait for — submitting it is the confirmation. File it for every member of your party, including children, before you fly.
Go to the IMUGA portal ↗How long you can stay
30 days free — extendable up to 90.
The visa on arrival is valid for 30 days from the date you land, at no cost. If you want to stay longer, you can apply to Maldives Immigration to extend the visa up to a total of 90 days before the initial 30 days expire — an extension carries a processing fee, handled at the immigration office in Malé. The visa is strictly for tourism; working on a tourist visa is not permitted. Most Indian leisure trips run 4–10 nights, so the standard 30-day grant covers them with room to spare.
Free, issued at the counter.
Via Maldives Immigration, fee applies.
Working is not permitted.
Common situations
Children, transit & foreign-passport travellers.
Infants & children
Every child — including infants — needs their own passport and gets their own free 30-day visa on arrival, issued at the counter. Add each minor to the family Traveller Declaration (IMUGA) within 96 hours before arrival. There is no separate child visa fee; the visa is free for all ages.
Transit through a hub
Most India–Maldives routes connect through a Gulf hub or Colombo. For single-ticket international airside transits you stay in the transit area and need no transit visa. The free Maldives visa on arrival applies only on landing at Velana (MLE), not at your connecting airport — check the transit country's own rules if your bags are not checked through.
OCI & foreign-passport holders
OCI cardholders and Indian-origin travellers on a foreign passport are admitted under that passport's nationality rules — which, for almost every country, is the same free 30-day visa on arrival. You still complete the Traveller Declaration with your travel-document details before arrival.
TCS is an India tax, not a Maldives visa fee.
A common point of confusion for Indian travellers: Tax Collected at Source (TCS) applies to overseas tour packages purchased in India under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). That is an India-side tax matter collected by your Indian tour operator and adjustable against your income tax — it has nothing to do with the Maldives visa, which remains free. Maldives Immigration charges you nothing for the 30-day visa on arrival. If you want to understand the all-in budget — flights, resort, transfers, green tax and any TCS your operator applies — see our India trip-cost and packages guides.
Frequently asked
Maldives visa questions from India.
Do Indians need a visa for the Maldives?
No advance visa is required. Indian passport holders receive a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival at Velana International Airport (MLE) — the same visa-on-arrival policy the Maldives extends to nationals of every country. You do not apply at an embassy, you do not pay a fee, and you do not lodge an application before flying. The single mandatory online step is the Traveller Declaration (IMUGA), which is free and must be submitted within 96 hours (3 days) before arrival. Provided you arrive with a valid passport, a confirmed return or onward ticket, a confirmed hotel or resort booking, and sufficient funds (or a confirmed prepaid booking), immigration in Malé issues the 30-day visa at the counter in a few minutes.
Is the Maldives visa free for Indians?
Yes. The 30-day tourist visa on arrival is completely free of charge for Indian passport holders — there is no visa fee payable to Maldives Immigration, and no advance application fee. If a website or agent asks you to pay a "Maldives visa fee" or "visa processing charge" before you travel, that is a misrepresentation — there is no such fee. Genuine costs of a Maldives trip from India are the flight, the resort or guesthouse, the speedboat or seaplane transfer, optional travel insurance, and the green-tax / GST the resort adds to your bill (roughly USD 6–12 per person per night, settled at checkout). None of those are visa fees. Separately, your Indian tour operator may collect TCS under LRS — that is an India-side tax, not a Maldives charge (see the Indian-traveller notes below).
What is the Traveller Declaration (IMUGA)?
IMUGA (Immigration Maldives — imuga.immigration.gov.mv) is the free online Traveller Declaration that every person arriving in the Maldives must complete within 96 hours (3 days) before arrival. It is not a visa application and it carries no fee or approval delay — it replaces the paper card travellers used to fill on the plane. You enter your passport details, flight number, accommodation address, and a few public-health tick-boxes, then receive a QR code by email. Present that QR code with your passport at Malé immigration. Submission is itself the confirmation; there is nothing to wait for. This is the one step Indian travellers most often miss, so file it before you fly. Resortlife completes it on behalf of clients who book through us.
How long can Indians stay in the Maldives?
30 days from the date of arrival, issued free on arrival. If you need to stay longer, you can apply to extend the visa up to a total of 90 days through Maldives Immigration before the initial 30 days expire — extensions carry a processing fee and are granted at the immigration office in Malé. Most leisure trips from India run 4–10 nights, so the initial 30-day grant covers them comfortably. The visa is for tourism only; you are not permitted to work on a tourist visa. The visa is single-entry — if you leave the Maldives and return, immigration issues a fresh 30-day visa on the new arrival.
Do children need a separate visa for the Maldives?
Yes — every traveller, including infants and children, needs their own valid passport and their own free 30-day visa on arrival, which is issued at the counter just like an adult's. There is no separate child visa fee (the visa is free for all ages). Each child must also be included in the Traveller Declaration (IMUGA) — you can add accompanying minors to the family submission within 96 hours before arrival. Carry each child's passport (valid at least one month beyond the stay; six months recommended). OCI cardholders and Indian-origin travellers on a foreign passport are admitted under the rules for that passport's nationality, which for almost all countries is the same free 30-day visa on arrival.
Plan a Maldives trip from India
Visa sorted. Now build the trip itself.
Resortlife Travel is a Malé-based DMC operating since 2006. We build Maldives packages for Indian travellers — direct resort contracts (150+ properties), seaplane and speedboat transfers, the Traveller Declaration handled for you, and dietary or family arrangements coordinated with the resort. Send us your travel dates for a tailored quote.