Visa Facilitation Service

Consular Services Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs facilitates Maldivian nationals to obtain visas from Missions that are accredited to the Maldives. In addition, in cases where there are no Embassies / High Commissions accredited to the Maldives, Ministry also facilitates visas from the relevant Missions or Ministry of Foreign Affairs of those countries. When applying for a visa, the applicant must meet all necessary criteria / pre-requirements set by the relevant Mission. In cases where visas are issued by Missions located in Male’, the applicant should directly obtain it from those Missions. Visa Application Forms (either by e-mail or hard copy) will be available from the Ministry along with a checklist to assist in meeting the requirements. However, this is on condition that the stated Visa Application Forms are at the disposal of the Ministry. In cases where the Visa Application Forms are not available, the applicant can obtain it through the relevant website or the Ministry can assist in obtaining it from the relevant Mission. Once the completed Visa Application Forms and the relevant documents / materials are submitted to the Ministry along with 1 set of photocopies of all the documents, it will be tendered to the pertinent Mission via Embassy of Maldives. The original set of Application will be couriered to the relevant Embassy of Maldives through the Diplomatic Pouch. The following are the days on which the Diplomatic Pouch is being couriered to our Embassies. Colombo: Monday & Thursday

New Delhi: Thursday

Singapore: Thursday

Islamabad: Thursday

Once Visa Application is submitted to the relevant Mission, the Ministry will keep a tab on any development on a regular basis. If any issue arises, the applicant will be notified immediately. Each Mission of the receiving foreign country has its own time frame for visa processing; hence the Ministry / Maldivian Missions do not have any authority to request the relevant High Commission / Embassy to grant the visa on a special time frame. Further, the Ministry / Maldivian Mission also do not have any authority to verify the status of the visa before the end of this period. In cases where those High Commissions / Embassies require the Applicant’s fingerprints / interview process / any other biometric details, the Applicant must make a presence at the High Commission / Embassy. Once the visa is issued, Maldivian Mission will retrieve the passport and forward it to the Ministry either by courier or with a Maldivian national travelling back to Male’. When the Ministry receives it, the applicant would be notified and the Passport will be handed over at the earliest. Passport, completed visa application form, all necessary documentation and visa fee (if required and in the form of a Bank Draft) must be received by the Ministry in order to facilitate visa. Once visa is issued by relevant Mission, passports can be collected from the Ministry on every Sunday to Thursday between 0900 hrs – 1200 hrs. The Ministry provides the Visa Facilitation service for free.

Important Notes

Visit visa cannot be changed to any other visa type. Prior visa has to be obtained before going abroad for medical or educational or official purpose. Medical visa will be issued when medical certificate is submitted and the student visa is issued upon submission of the placement letter from the university, college or institute.

The Ministry or the Maldivian Diplomatic Missions abroad have no authority to influence the procedure of issuing visa. Respective authorities of the countries control the time limit of issuing visa.

Since most of the Diplomatic Missions accredited to the Maldives are established abroad, the time frame for the issuance of visa may exceed depending on public holidays.

In situations in which the visa applicant has to submit the biometric details, the applicant has to personally fix an appointment with the respective Embassy. Appointment can be fixed through visa facilitation centers or from the Embassy’s website.

The Visa applicant should be responsible for paying the visa fee. If the fee has to be paid via a bank draft, it can be sent with the visa application through the Ministry. If the fee has to be paid by cash, the applicant has to arrange the delivery of cash to the respective Embassy.