Work Visa

Work Visa is the permit issued for a foreigner to stay in Maldives for the purpose of employment.

A person traveling to the Maldives for the purpose of employment will be granted 15 days from the date of arrival. In order to acquire this pre period, the foreign national should possess a valid Work Permit issued by the Ministry of Economic Development, which does not exceed 90 days from date of issue. Moreover, the foreign national should provide the same passport on arrival for which the Work Permit was issued. Re-entry on Work Permit without obtaining a visa is possible unless the Work Permit remains valid (within 90 days from date of issue).

Work Visa process include a medical check-up which needs to be completed from a permitted hospital/clinic, and health insurance should cover within this period to apply for work visa.

The consequences for not obtaining visa within the mentioned period results in penalization under the Immigration Act 1/2007, which include deportation from Maldives for overstaying.

The issuance of Work Visa service is decentralized and is provided from Male’ (Visa Division, Star Cloud, 8th Floor, Majeedhee Magu), Hithadhoo Immigration Office (Addu City), Fuvahmulah Immigration Office (Fuvahmulah City) and Kulhudhuffushi Immigration Office (H. Dh. Kulhudhuffushi).

Entry Requirements for Work Visa

  1. A machine readable (MRZ) Passport Bio-data page copy of the applicant (At least 1 Year validity).
  2. A valid Work Permit not exceeding 90 days from date of arrival.
  3. Traveler should provide the same passport mention in the Work Permit.
  4. Traveler Health Declaration, submitted within 48 hours prior to departure from the first port of embarkation. You may submit the form electronically via IMUGA.
  5. Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate, if applicable.

Applying for Work Visa

The following documents are required to apply for Work Visa and the employer or a representative of the employer shall submit the application for visa.

  1. Passport of the employee
  2. Copy of the Work Permit
  3. Passport size photo (Photo shall comply with Maldives Immigration passport photo standard and must be a recent photo)
  4. Medical health screening report of the employee issued from a Hospital/Clinic authorized by the relevant government authority
  5. Work Visa Application Submission Receipt (IM29)

Maldives Immigration introduced online Work Visa service on 17th November 2019. Hence, the employers and recruitment agencies shall apply for the service through Xpat Online System.

With this enhancement, visa will be processed within 48 hours of submission. When the application is processed, applicants can request for an online appointment to submit the passport(s) for visa. Visa process will take 3 working days and the applicant will be notified when the passport is ready for collection. An online appointment shall be fixed once again for passport(s) collection.

Instructional video: https://bit.ly/3gNrLah

Note:

  • Expatriate should be registered under the “Expatriate Medical Insurance” issued from Allied Insurance Company, before applying for visa.
  • Work Visa fee should be paid for a minimum of 3 months from the date of submission of the application.
  • The existing Employees while returning to Maldives after been abroad must make sure their visa is valid or at least the Work Permit should remain valid.