Work Visa

A Work Visa is a 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. 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 the date of issue. Moreover, the foreign national should provide the same passport on arrival for which the Work Permit was issued.

Re-entry on a Work Permit without obtaining a visa is possible unless the Work Permit remains valid (within 90 days from the date of issue). However, considering the circumstances, the work permit holder may be permitted to exit and enter once before obtaining a visa, provided that the work permit should remain valid.

The consequences for not obtaining a visa within the mentioned period result in penalization under the Immigration Act 1/2007, which includes 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 Entry Pass not exceeding 90 days from the date of arrival.
  3. Traveler should provide the same passport mentioned in the Work Permit.
  4. Traveler Declaration, submitted within 96 hours prior to departure from the first port of embarkation. It has to be submitted electronically via IMUGA portal.
  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 visa application.

  1. Passport of the employee.
  2. Passport size photo (Photo shall comply with Maldives Immigration passport photo standard and must be a recent photo).
  3. Medical health screening report of the employee issued from a Hospital/Clinic authorized by the relevant government authority, if required.
  4. Submission Receipt of IM29 form (Generated from Xpat System).

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, the 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 a visa. The visa process will take 3 working days and the applicant will be notified when the passport is ready for collection.

Instructional video

Note:

  • Work Visa holders should ensure that they have a valid work permit when re-entering the Maldives.
  • A Work Permit is an approval issued by the Ministry of Economic Development for employment in the Maldives.
  • A Work Visa is a permission granted by Maldives Immigration that allows foreigners to live and work in the Maldives after they have acquired a work permit.