Country Profile:

The Maldives, situated to the south of the South Asian mainland in the Indian Ocean, is made up of 1,192 coral islands across 26 atolls. Only 189 islands are home to its inhabitants. The other islands are used entirely for economic purposes, of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant. Tourism accounts for 28% of the GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives’ foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes.

Capital: Malé

Population: 590,297 (2022)

Ethic Group: 74.28% Maldivians

Area: 298 km²  (187th)

Offical Language: English

Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) & United States dollar

GDP per Captial: $37,093 (54th)

How To Immigrate To The Maldives:

The Maldives offers Corporate Residence Visa options(minimum investment requirement 500,000 US dollars) for foreigners.

Corporate Residence Visa:

The Maldives offers a Corporate Residence Visa for foreign investors with three financial options for eligibility:

1. Investing more than 500,000 US dollars locally;

2. depositing over 1 million US dollars in a local bank and maintaining it for more than 2 years;

3. investing at least 1 million US dollars in the local real estate sector.

The visa is valid for 5 years. By maintaining the investment, it can be renewed indefinitely.

To apply for the visa, one must first submit a registration application on the Maldives’ Ministry of Economic Development website (the URL is provided on the site), followed by the completion of the investment. The entire application process can be done online, with a processing time of 14 days. The visa fee is 15,000 Rufiyaa (Maldivian currency, approximately 974.7 US dollars; please check the real-time exchange rate).

Documents required for the application include: the completed IM24 Business Visa Application Form; IM30 Application Form; a passport valid for 6 months and its color scan; a passport-sized photo; local registered address information; proof of medical insurance purchase, and other relevant supplementary materials.

Permanent Residency By Investment:

Foreigners who secure a lease on luxury Maldivian properties or islands for a duration exceeding 25 years (with the weekly lease for a villa starting at 30,000 US dollars, and for an island at 350,000 US dollars) are eligible to apply for Maldivian permanent residency. However, this residency primarily grants ease of living in the Maldives and does not encompass most of the privileges granted to its citizens.

Apart from this, only foreigners who marry Maldivian citizens can obtain local permanent residency.

Naturalization:

To qualify for Maldivian citizenship, foreigners must have lived legally in the Maldives without interruption for 12 years (with cumulative time away not surpassing 6 months) and either be or convert to Islam.

Passport Power:

The Maldives recognizes dual citizenship, and its passport is ranked 58th globally. Passport holders can freely travel (either visa-free or with visa on arrival) to 88 countries and regions worldwide, including China, Russia, the UK, and Ireland.

Useful Links:

The Maldives Ministry Of Economic Development：https://trade.gov.mv/en/

The Maldives E-visa Platform：https://efaas.egov.mv/