Maldives Ends PCR Test Requirement Form Fully Vaccinated International Travellers

Maldives has recently dropped the requirement to present a negative RT-PCR test result from fully vaccinated international travellers arriving on the Indian Ocean Island.

Think Strawberries, which represents Maldives Marketing and PR Corp in India, said in a statement that effective from 5th March 2022.

Maldives New Travel Guidelines

According to the statement issued, the Maldives has revised its guidelines regarding the PCR test requirements, and brought the following changes into its travel guidelines;

• Passengers entering to Maldives are no longer required to present a PCR negative test result upon arrival if the individual(s) have completed the prescribed dose(s) of a Covid-19 vaccine that is being approved by the Maldives Food & Drug Authority or by the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL) and at least 14 (fourteen) days have passed since. (Booster dose(s) are not required to be eligible for this exemption).
• Tourists who spend their holiday in tourist facilities in inhabited islands are no longer required to do a PCR test when departing from respective inhabited islands.”

Apart from this, Children over the age of one year who are not eligible for vaccination, as well as individuals who have not completed the prescribed dose(s) of a Covid-19 vaccine, will be required to present a negative PCR upon arrival in the Maldives, with the sample for the PCR taken at most 96 (ninety-six) hours before departure from the first port of embarkation.

Moreover, all inbound international travellers are still required to complete the Traveler Health Declaration form within 48 hours of their flight.

It must be noted that India is one of the major source markets for the Maldives, ranking third in terms of tourist arrivals with around 29,643 visitors from the country.

With around 278,740 travellers and a market share of 22.6 per cent in 2021, India was the largest market. Similarly, India was the leading market in 2020, with 62,960 arrivals and a market share of 11.3 per cent.