The practical stuff, answered once and properly

Tourists receive a visa on arrival and do not need visa pre-approval, but must meet Immigration's entry requirements. Entry is decided at the border, not guaranteed by a hotel booking. Since 15 April 2025, entry is not granted on Israeli passports.

Immigration requires a machine-readable passport or travel document with at least one month's validity; manually extended passport validity is not accepted. Check your airline, transit countries and onward destination separately — their document requirements may be stricter. Children need their own passport.

Have confirmed return journey tickets, a prepaid confirmed booking at a registered accommodation facility and sufficient funds for your stay, or Immigration-approved sponsorship. A yellow fever certificate is required if arriving from, or having recently travelled through, a country with yellow fever transmission risk; children under one year are exempt.

Every arriving foreign traveller, including children, must submit an individual Traveller Declaration within the 96 hours before arrival. Official IMUGA submission is free: use the government portal rather than a paid third-party form. Recheck the official requirements before departure.

The Maldives is an Islamic country. UK government travel advice states that publicly observing a religion other than Islam is illegal. Respect religious places and local customs, particularly around mosques and during Ramadan.

Outside holiday resorts, cover shoulders and keep shorts or skirts long enough to cover upper legs. On beaches used by locals, official advice also recommends covering arms and upper legs when bathing. Ask your host which visitor swimwear area is permitted; do not assume every beach is a bikini beach. Nudity and topless sunbathing are not permitted, including at resorts.

Do not bring alcohol from a resort onto an inhabited island such as Gemanafushi. Government advice warns that possessing or drinking alcohol, or being intoxicated outside resorts and on inhabited islands, can lead to arrest and deportation.

During Ramadan, avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight hours outside holiday resorts. Ask your accommodation about meal arrangements and changes to local service hours; do not assume shops, offices or cafés follow their usual schedule.

Medical facilities and access to treatment vary between islands. A health centre listing does not confirm a doctor on duty or specialist care. Arrange travel insurance covering your activities, treatment and medical evacuation; discuss existing conditions with your clinician and insurer before booking.

Ambulance numbers are inconsistent across official sources: UK government health advice says 102, while Maldives NDMA lists 100 for the National Ambulance Service. We have not resolved their geographic coverage or confirmed which service can reach your island. Save the arrangements confirmed by your accommodation, local health centre and insurer; do not assume a Malé ambulance can reach a remote island.

IGMH in Malé and Hulhumalé Hospital are confirmed facilities in the capital area. The numbers below are general contact numbers, not confirmed emergency hotlines. Neither listing establishes the nearest or fastest-accessible hospital from your island.

Check the legal status of your medicines before travelling, carry prescriptions and arrange an adequate supply. Do not rely on finding your usual medicine, a pharmacy or a specific treatment on every local island. A clinician or emergency service should decide the receiving facility and medical transport.

For a lost passport, detention or consular assistance, contact the embassy or consulate responsible for your nationality. The Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes an Accredited Missions directory covering multiple countries; some missions are based outside the Maldives, including in Colombo or New Delhi.

Use the directory to identify the responsible mission, then confirm its current contacts and emergency procedure on your own government's official website. A general embassy number is not necessarily an after-hours emergency line. Save your mission's emergency contact and your insurer's assistance number before departure.

An embassy is not a substitute for local emergency services. We do not present the Maldives Foreign Ministry's own consular line as assistance for every foreign nationality.

For tourism-related enquiries, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation publishes the reception number and email below. This is an administrative contact, not a confirmed round-the-clock visitor centre or rescue hotline.

The Police Service directory lists 1478 as its Tourist Police Hotline for tourist assistance and emergency services. For immediate danger, follow the police's emergency instruction to call 911. We have not tested either line by calling.

The Police Service directory lists 104 for STELCO electricity services and 105 for MWSC water and sewerage services in the Malé region. These are provider contacts, not universal utility numbers for every Maldivian island; confirm the relevant operator and outage contact with your host.

Before staying on a local island, confirm drinking-water arrangements, payment methods, cash access, Wi-Fi, meal options and shop hours with your accommodation. Do not assume an ATM, pharmacy, tourist information desk or continuous utility service is available everywhere.

For remote islands, save your accommodation's number, the local health centre contact, your confirmed transfer operator and your insurer's assistance line. Ordinary passenger boats and flights should not be treated as confirmed medical evacuation services.