As per the new guidelines, tourists are not required to pay any additional fee to produce a certificate or test result which shows of negative status for COVID-19 before entry in Maldives.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced that Maldives will reopen its borders for international tourists from 15 July 2020.Hotels and resorts located at small islands will be open from July 15 and hotels and guesthouse in inhabited islands will open from 1st August 2020.
As per guidelines, For tourists without covid 19 symptoms, there is no requirement for quarantine either.
Guidelines for reopening tourism sector was also released by the Ministry of Tourism giving complete information for all sectors across tourism industry on their standard operating procedures, as well as important information to tourists.
Key points Before your travel to the Maldives:
– person who have a history of contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID- 19 within the past 14 days and persons who have fever or respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, shortness of breath within the past 14 days are advised not to travel to Maldives.
– All updates on travel to the Maldives re provided on Ministry of Tourism site and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives
– A confirmed booking in a tourist establishment registered with the Ministry of Tourism, before travelling is mandatory.
– Hotels, liveaboard vessels and tourist resorts located on small islands are open for bookings from July 15.
– guesthousea and hotels located on other islands will open for bookings from 1st august 2020.
– Hotels and guesthouse located on small islands will be allowed to accommodate transiting passengers waiting for domestic transfers under special permits. Transit arrangements can be made through the primary facility where the stay is booked.
– Traveler are advised to directly check offers and operational status with the preferred tourist establishments on their mobile applications and website .
– Traveller who are visiting Maldives during phase 1 of opening shall book their entire stay in one registered place. Stays at multiple hotels and stay are not permitted during this period. However, exemptions will be made for transit arrangements.
Key point During your flight:
– All travellers should submit a health declaration card upon arrival, completed onboard the aircraft.
– As per border health and aviation procedure, if a passenger has fever, cough or shortness of breath on board the flight it should be informed to the Health Protection Agency.
Key points on Arrival at the airport:
– Travelers travelling to Maldives will be provided a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival.
– A health declaration card will be required as part of the on-arrival procedure.
– All arriving tourists should wear masks
– social distancing should be ensured.
– Hand sanitization at entry to the arrival terminal.
– All arriving tourist must undergo thermal screening at entry.
– Traveler will not be subject to any quarantine measures upon arrival to the Maldives.
– Traveler will not be required to submit any medical test results for entry to the Maldives. However, tourist with symptoms of Covid-19 upon arrival will be subject to a PCR test at the tourist cost. The tourist will be sent to a designated facility for isolation.
Isolation will be done at a designated transit facility or at the traveler’ destination resort (depending on the resort policy). If the result of the PCR test is positive, the tourist may continue isolation at the resort or will be transferred to a designated state-run isolation facility.
If the result of the PCR test is negative, the traveler will be released from isolation. In the case of negative PCR test in a traveler who is isolated temporarily at a transit facility, he/she will be released from isolation and may travel to the destination resort. Although released from isolation, a traveler with symptoms will have to follow restrictions on attending public places such as restaurants until the symptoms resolve.
– Contact tracing should be done for the patient with symptoms to identify traveler who were close contacts during the flight and during the travel. Contacts who are tourist can be quarantined in their destination resorts until the PCR test result of the patient is known. Contacts will be released from quarantine if the patients’ PCR test is negative.
– On arrival, if any traveler gives history of contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 within 14 days prior to arrival (as per passenger health declaration card), the tourist must be examined by the doctor at the airport clinic. If the person is with symtoms, he/she will require to be quarantined. If the person with symptoms, a sample should be taken for PCR for COVID-19 and the patient should be sent to a designated facility for isolation.
– Installing the contact tracing app “TraceEkee” is encouraged for all traveler.
– Local health authorities may conduct random testing at no cost to tourist.
– Compulsory restrictions on travel within Maldives for traveler during the COVID-19: restrictions on inter island travel. The Ministry of Tourism should continuously update and inform the traveler establishments regarding the travel restrictions imposed by HPA.
– Requirement for traveler to inform the resort if he/she tests positive for COVID-19 upon return from Maldives: All traveler should inform the resort if they test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of departure from the resort.
At the time of departure from your place of stay:
– Traveler will have to undergo an exit screening before departure from the place of stay.
– The exit screening questionnaire should document any history of fever or respiratory symptoms such as cough or shortness of breath within the prior 14 days. It should be ensured that the guest is not under quarantine or isolation. Temperature should be checked to exclude fever.
– Routine testing for COVID-19 is not required before departure, but during exit screening if any traveler is found to have fever or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 within the prior 14 days, they should undergo PCR testing for COVID-19.
– Testing services are available in the Maldives for traveler who require Covid-19 test results to return to their countries of origin or another destination.