Maldives reopens for Indian tourists from 15 July: All you need to know about travelling to island nation

The island country of Maldives has announced that it will open its borders to South Asian countries including India from 15 July.President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announcing his government’s decision, added that the situation will be reviewed periodically between 1 and 15 July in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.The island nation heavily relies on tourism for its economy and it comes as relief to many resorts and hotels across the country which rely on international travellers for their business. The latest travel update also comes as a huge relief for all the tourism stakeholders.If you're looking to travel to the Maldives in the near future, here's all you need to know to plan your holiday.Visa requirementThe Maldives gives a visa on arrival.  In order to enter the Maldives, Indian nationals visiting the country as a tourist do not require any pre-arrival visa, just a valid passport.Some of the other visa requirements include:

• Passport must have at least 1-month validity from the date of your expected departure in the Maldives
• A confirmed pre-booking at a registered tourist facility is a prerequisite for the visa. Up until guesthouse tourist facilities are to be reopened at a later date, a booking is considered valid only for a tourist resort facility, liveaboards, and/or pre-approved transit facilities
• Tourist visa extensions will be made available for long-stay tourists without the imposition of any further fees

Any COVID-19 test/vaccine requirements?As per a tweet from the Maldives tourism ministry, international passengers are required to carry a negative RT-PCR test, with the test taken within 96 hours from the scheduled time of departure.Here are some other requirements:

• All tourists have to submit a health declaration form on the Maldives immigration portal 24 hours before travel to the islands (and then again, prior to departure).
• There is no mandatory quarantine or test on arrival. For non-tourist visitors travelling to an inhabited island, you are required to undergo self-quarantine of 14 days upon arrival at the island.
• However, those who show symptoms of COVID-19 will have to undergo a PCR test and isolate at a resort or a designated transit facility until they get their results. (Note that this may be at your cost.)
• For those travelling in a group: if one person tests positive, everyone will have to get tested and isolated as per the procedure.

Previous banThe Maldives had imposed a temporary suspension of tourist visas for visitors travelling from South Asian countries, since 13 May. In addition to India, the countries included under this ban were Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.With inputs from agencies