Department of Immigration and Emigration

Deputy Controller Mr.Hamid Fathuhulla Participated in the Third Meeting of SAARC Immigration Authorities
Wednesday, 07 July 2010

On behalf of Maldives, Deputy Controller of Department of Immigration and Emigration, Mr. Hamid Fathuhulla, participated in the Third Meeting of SAARC Immigration Authorities held on the 24th of June 2010.

The Meeting which was held at Islamabad, the beautiful city of Pakistan, was presided over by the Director General, Passport and Immigration, Mr. Wajid Bokhari, who thoroughly discussed the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme. He also apprised the meeting that so far 8,500 visa stickers have been issued under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, introduced in March 1992, which entitles the holder of the sticker to one month stay without restrictions on the number of cities to be visited.

This meeting also discussed on inclusion of more categories of people under this scheme, extending it to students, business class and media. Other than this various proposals for enhancing cooperation in immigration relating issues among the SAARC countries and making it easier for trans-national movement, were discussed throughout the meeting.

The meeting also agreed that the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Immigration Authorities will be held in Maldives in the year 2011.

Vice Counsul of the US Embassy in Colombo Meets With The Controller
Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Ms. V.Claire Breedlove, Counsul of the US Embassy in Colombo, Srilanka, met with the Minister of State, Controller of Immigration and Emigration Sh. Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim on the 3rd of February 2010. Deputy Controller Mr. Abdulla Waheed and Assistant Controller Mr. Ibrahim Ashraf were also present at the meeting which was held at the Immigration Head office. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss about and collect information to be included in the US Trafficking in Person Report.

The U.S. Department of State began monitoring trafficking in persons in 1994, when the issue began to be covered in the Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Read more...

Deputy Controller Abdulla Waheed took part in a regional seminar
Monday, 08 February 2010

Deputy Controller Abdulla Waheed took part in a regional seminar held in Dhaka on the 27th and 28th of January 2010.

Organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the seminar stressed the need for expanding the scope of definition of trafficked persons in the SAARC convention. It identified that the "SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution" did not include male as trafficked persons. Hence, the participants proposed that the SAARC Convention on Trafficking be revised to make it an effective instrument for combating trafficking in persons in the region, and agreed that the scope of the convention needs to be expanded to include trafficking of men and trafficking for other exploitative purposes, such as forced labour or labour trafficking.

Welcome to Immigration’s official website

As part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Immigration and Emigration is responsible for the Immigration control throughout the Maldives.

Did You Know?

Do I need a visa before I arrive in Maldives, if I am visiting as a Tourist?
No, you will be granted a free entry visa on arrival. Depending on your financial status, you can apply for maximum thirty days.

Travel Tips

It is always a good idea to have a few passports photos with you. You never know when you will need them.

Leave a copy of your itinerary and a photocopy of your passport at home or with your family, to let them know your travel plan. It would be better, if the hotels you are going to stay are also known.

One of the best ways to stay in contact with the people at home, while you are traveling, is to have a web based email. Something like hotmail or avasmail. If you do not have a web based email account, you can setup an email account for free from these two sites.

If you loose your passport while abroad, do not start making unnecessary calls home. As this mishap could prolong your stay and you need to save as much as you can. Follow the steps below:

    * Go to the nearest police station and report the incident, and get a police report.
    * Write the name of the hotel, phone number, fax number, room number, your national identity card number (or passport number) on a piece of paper
    * Now call home and get your most reliable person on the phone
    * Give all these details you wrote down to this person and get his/hers identity card number and full name.
    * Ask this person to contact the Immigration on your behalf
    * Fax a letter (with the police report) to the immigration explaining the situation and giving details of your contact person (make sure you write his/hers identity card number).Fax number is (960) 320011 (Head Office) and (960) 320451 (Airport)

IF YOU ARE IN SRI LANKA, INDIA OR UNITED KINGDOM, CONTACT THE DIPLOMATIC MISSION

New Photo Guide Line

Photographic Image Requirements for
Maldivian Travel Documents

For Your Information

A person entering Maldives with the intention to work in Maldives should have a copy of the Work Permit issued from the Ministry of Human Resources Youth & Sports at the time of arrival.

New ePassport Q&A (Dhivehi)

Find questions and answers of the new ePassport and the differences.

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Department of Immigration and Emigration | Republic of Maldives