No visa will be required for Maldivians traveling to India for medical, business and tourism purposes, the Indian High Commission announced on Sunday.
The High Commission said Maldives will be the first beneficiary of visa free travel to India since COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in India in March 2020. The move restores the bilateral visa-free agreement signed between Maldives and India in December 2018, which was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new change will come into effect on October 15.
As per the India-Maldives Visa Facilitation Agreement signed during President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's State Visit to India in December 2018, no visas would be required for a duration of 90 days for Maldivian nationals visiting India for tourism, medicine and business purposes. On March 23, 2020, all categories of Indian visas were suspended with the closure of India's international borders. In June 2020, a special exemption was granted to Maldivian nationals to visit India for medical purposes after obtaining visas from the High Commission.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (R) with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (L)
