Effective from fifth March 2022, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has revealed all vaccinated holidaymakers arriving to the Maldives are no more required to offer a Negative PCR test upon arrival.
This is applicable to individuals who have completed the suggested 2 dose(s) of Covid-19 jabs accepted by the Maldives Food & Drug Authority or the World Health Organization (WHO) and also a minimum of 2 week have passed from the last date of the 2nd dose. Booster dose(s) are not required to be eligible for this exception.
Youngsters (over one year) who are not qualified for inoculation as well as people that have not completed the suggested dosage(s) of a Covid-19 vaccine, will certainly still be required to provide a negative PCR upon arrival to the Maldives, for which the sample needs to be taken no longer than 96 hours prior to the port of departure.
Tourists that spend their vacation in resorts and inhabited islands are no longer needed to do a PCR test when departing from the particular inhabited islands or resorts.
List of Approved Covid-19 Vaccines by Food & Drug Authority of Maldives:
- COVISHILED – Approved from 28th January 2021
- SINOPHARM – Approved from 14th March 2021
- AZTRAZENECA – Approved from 20th June 2021
- SPUTNIK V – Approved from 12th May 2021
- JANSSEN – Approved from 06th June 2021
- MODERNA – Approved from 06th June 2021
- PFIZER – Approved from 14th March 2021
List of Approved Covid-19 Vaccines by WHO (Accepted by Maldives)
- COMIRNATY®
- VAXZEVRIA
- SPIKEVAX
- CoronaVac
- COVAXIN®
- COVOVAX™
- NUVAXOVID™
Below is the official Circular from Maldives Civil Aviation Authority with the changes;
MALDIVES CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY
Republic of Maldives
AIR TRANSPORT CIRCULAR AT 14/2020 – Issue 25
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
04th March 2022
As part of the planned activities outlined by the Government of the Maldives to ease the travel
restrictions, all international airports in the Maldives were opened for international travel from 15th July 2020 with precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19, which are being reviewed from time to time.
Purpose
The purpose of this Circular is to advise the airlines, aircraft operators and the relevant airport authorities on the latest health measures taken by the Government of the Maldives relating to the entry of passengers and crew.
Requirements
Inflight
The following announcement should be made inflight: –
The following are the health measures requested by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) of Maldives: “Please wear your mask during the flight and inside the terminal at your destination.
If you have developed any of the following symptoms:
⦁ Fever,
⦁ Cough,
⦁ Sore throat,
⦁ Runny nose,
⦁ Breathing difficulty,
Please stay in your seat and inform the cabin crew.
If you develop any of the symptoms upon arrival, please inform the Immigration desk or the Border Health desk.”
Airlines must ensure that the following measures are taken on-board an aircraft by passengers during a flight into Maldives:
⦁ Every passenger on board wears a mask, unless he or she:
⦁ is less than 6 (six) years old,
⦁ is having a medical reason for not wearing facemasks,
⦁ is eating, drinking, or taking oral medication,
⦁ is removing the mask under a crew member’s direction
⦁ Passengers must be advised to replace face masks when it becomes wet or soiled.
On Arrival
Tourists travelling to the Maldives will be provided visa on arrival. Tourists must have a hotel reservation confirmation for the entire stay in a registered tourist facility.
Tourists (excluding children who are not eligible for vaccination) intending to check-in or stay at Tourist Guesthouses in local islands must have completed the prescribed dose(s) of a Covid-19 Vaccine approved by the World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or the Maldives Food and Drug Authority and at least 14 (fourteen) days have passed after the prescribed doses(s).
However, Tourists intending to check-in at Tourist Guesthouses in local islands who have not completed the prescribed dose(s) of a Covid-19 Vaccine will be allowed to check-in to Tourist Guesthouses in local islands that meets the following criteria:
- At least 90% of the eligible resident population above 12 years of age have completed full dosage of vaccination.
- At least 90% of the eligible resident population above 65 years of age completed full dosage of vaccination
- At least 95% of staff in all tourist facilities of the tourist guest house islands have completed full dosage of vaccination
Islands that meet the above criteria will be announced by the HPA.
Expatriates travelling to the Maldives shall hold a valid visa issued by Maldives Immigration.
*** All Passengers and airline crew travelling to the Maldives are exempted from pre-entry PCR requirement, if they have completed the prescribed dose(s) of a COVID-19 Vaccine approved by the World Health Organization in Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or the Maldives Food and Drug Authority and at least 14 (fourteen) days have passed after the prescribed doses(s), prior to entry into the Maldives:
*** All Passengers and airline crew who have not completed the prescribed dose(s) of a COVID-19 Vaccine as prescribed above, must hold a negative result for a nucleic acid test (PCR test) for COVID-19 prior to entry into the Maldives. Children below the age of one (01) are exempted from the pre-entry PCR requirement.
The sample for the PCR test must be taken at most 96 (ninety-six) hours before the departure from the first port of embarkation.
If the passenger makes a transit during the journey, the initial PCR test will be valid if the transit does not exceed 24 (twenty-four) hours.
If the passenger makes a transit exceeding 24 (twenty-four) hours, the passenger must take a repeat PCR test prior to embarkation at the point of transit.
The Vaccination Certificate showing the completion prescribed dose(s) of a Covid-19 Vaccine should contain:
⦁ Name of the passenger
⦁ Passport Number/ National Identification Number
⦁ Date of birth
⦁ Product Name / Manufacturer of the Vaccines
⦁ The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses and date(s) of vaccination
⦁ The issuing State / Authority
The PCR Test document containing the test result should state:
⦁ Name of the passenger (name as in passport)
⦁ Name and address of the testing laboratory
⦁ Type of test stated as PCR test
⦁ Date of sampling
⦁ Result
The COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate and/or PCR test result may be presented in paper or electronic form during airline check-in and if required at arrival.
All arriving passengers and airline crew should complete and submit the online Traveller Health
Declaration form available from Maldives Immigration website portal https://imuga.immigration.gov.mv/ at most 48 (forty-eight) hours before their arrival to the Maldives. Passengers are required to present COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate and/or PCR Test results on arrival and should attach the applicable documents when completing the online Traveller Health Declaration form.
All arriving passengers and airline crew should report to the Immigration counter if they have fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat or breathing difficulties or report directly to the International Border Health counter.
The following categories of passengers including children who are not eligible for vaccination are required to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 (fourteen) days if they have not received prescribed dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved by Maldives Food and Drug Authority or in WHO’s Emergency Use Listing and not completed 14 (fourteen) days after receiving the prescribed dose(s) of a vaccine (prior to date of arrival to the Maldives). Such passengers must obtain a COVID- 19 negative PCR Test result before they are released from mandatory quarantine:
- Special Visa Holders whose duration of stay in the Maldives will be more than 7 (seven) days
- Business Visa Holders whose duration of stay in the Maldives will be more than 7 (seven) days
- Foreign diplomats and their accompanying family members
- Maldivian Nationals and Work Visa (Employment Visa) holders
The above category of passengers (including accompanying children who are not eligible for vaccination) will be exempted from mandatory quarantine if:
- Person(s) have completed the prescribed dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved by Maldives Food and Drug Authority or in WHO’s Emergency Use Listing and completed 14 (fourteen) days after receiving the prescribed dose(s) of a vaccine (prior to date of arrival to the Maldives). Such passengers must do a PCR Test between 3 to 5 days on arrival to the Maldives.
- Person(s) has recently recovered from COVID-19 (previous infection within 60 days prior to date of departure) and got a positive PCR test result from the sample tested for travel.
Travellers who are required to quarantine should register for prior approval 24 to 48 hours before travelling by providing required details to email [email protected]
Airline crew, ship crew and children specified in paragraph (***) and (***) and Tourists staying at an approved tourist facility are exempt from the mandatory quarantine requirement.
The operating airline shall assist and cooperate with the International Border Health Officials in carrying out contact tracing and aircraft disinfection when required, in accordance with the applicable HPA’s regulations and guidelines.
It is the responsibility of the Operating Airline to ensure that their passengers are following the entry requirements prior to boarding. The operating airline shall also ensure that those passengers presenting their Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate or PCR Test results complies with the requirements stated in this Circular.
Operating Airlines may verify passengers Visas and/or their reservations at designated facilities, prior to boarding by email [email protected] and [email protected]
HPA will hold the operating airline and passengers liable for violations of its guidelines and may take appropriate legal and administrative actions corresponding to the extent of such violations.
On Departure
It is the responsibility of the passenger and airline crew to attain the health requirements for the country of departure. If it is a requirement of the country of departure, then passengers and crew must carry Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate or COVID-19 negative PCR Test results with them when arriving at the airport check-in counter.
All departing passengers and airline crew must report to the nearest health care provider or report to COVID-19 hotline number 1676 if they develop any of the following symptoms, within 24 (twenty-four) hours of their departure time;
⦁ Fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough, or breathing difficulties
⦁ They must verify with the COYID-19 hotline if they need to cancel their current booking
All departing passengers and airline crew must complete the online Traveller Health Declaration form for departure. The Health Declaration form for departure must be submitted at most 48 (forty-eight) hours before the time of departure. The online Traveller Health Declaration form is available from Maldives Immigration website portal https://imuga.immigration.gov.mv/
Guidance for COVID-19 positive recovered passengers travelling to the Maldives
Positive recovered passengers are required to present a valid PCR test result prior to entry into the Maldives. The sample for the PCR test must be taken not more than 96 hours prior to scheduled time of departure from the first port of embarkation enroute to Maldives. This requirement is not mandatory for children below the age of 1 (one) year.
Passengers who recently recovered from COVID-19 (previous infection within 60 days prior to date of departure) and got a positive PCR test result from the sample tested for travel, must also present the documentation of recovery from COVID-19.
Positive recovered passengers travelling to the Maldives should follow the process described in the
Guidance for Positive recovered Travellers available from Ministry of Health website
https://covid19.health.gov.mv/guidance-for-positive-recovered-travelers/?c=0
Applicability
The requirement in this Circular applies to all international airlines, aircraft operators operating to and from the Maldives, passengers arriving to and departing from Maldives by air and to the relevant airport authorities in the Maldives.
Effectivity
This Circular will come into effect from 05th March 2022.
