The six-month passport rule · 🇲🇻 Maldives

Does your passport meet the Maldives' one-month rule?

The Maldives needs your passport valid at least 1 month beyond the day you arrive, or you can be refused boarding. Check yours below.

The Maldives requires your passport to be valid for at least 1 month beyond the day you arrive. Tourists get a 30-day visa on arrival; complete the IMUGA traveller declaration within 96 hours before arrival.

Rule encoded from Maldives Immigration / GOV.UK travel advice · last reviewed July 2026

Entry rules change without notice and airlines make the final call — verify with your carrier or the destination's embassy before you fly.

The rule, in one minute

Immigration authorities want a buffer on your passport in case you overstay, fall ill, or get stranded. So instead of asking "is it valid today?", many ask "will it still be valid six months from now?" — and your airline enforces the answer at check-in, because carriers are fined for flying in passengers who get turned away.

But "the six-month rule" is really three different rules:

Six months from entry: The most common form — Thailand, Indonesia, China, India, the UAE and most of Southeast Asia and East Africa. Your passport must be valid six months past the day you arrive.
Three months beyond departure: The Schengen area's version — plus a second clause people miss: the passport must have been issued within the last ten years when you enter.
Valid for the stay: The UK, US, Canada, Japan, Australia and much of the Americas only require validity through your trip — though a thin margin still invites questions.

What this means for your Maldives trip

For a trip arriving August 15, 2026 and leaving August 29, 2026, the Maldives needs your passport valid until September 15, 2026 — 1 month beyond the day you arrive.

Maldives passport questions, answered

Does the Maldives require six months' passport validity?

What are the Maldives' passport expiration rules?

Your passport's expiration date must be at least 1 month after the day you arrive. If it expires sooner, expect to be stopped at airline check-in rather than at the border.

My passport expires in five months — can I still go to the Maldives?

Probably — the Maldives needs 1 month beyond the day you arrive, so five months covers a typical trip. Run your exact dates through the checker to see your margin before you book.

Is the Maldives' rule counted from arrival or departure?

From arrival: count 1 month from the day you enter the Maldives. Your passport's expiry date must fall on or after that point, or you can be refused boarding.

When should I renew my passport before a trip to the Maldives?

Add 1 month to your arrival date: if your passport expires within about a month of that point, renew before you fly — under 30 days of margin is where discretionary refusals happen. Routine renewals run four to ten weeks in most countries, so start about three months out.

Who enforces the rule when I fly to the Maldives?

Usually your airline, at check-in. Carriers face fines — typically €3,000–5,000 per passenger — plus the cost of the return flight when they deliver someone who gets refused entry, so agents verify your passport against the industry Timatic database before issuing a boarding pass, and they don't round up: one day short can be enough. Most travelers caught out never reach the Maldives' immigration desk.

More six-month-rule questions — connections, children's passports, Schengen's ten-year clause — are answered on the home page.

Check the rule for a specific country

The six-month rule isn't the same everywhere. Open your destination for its exact requirement, the anchor date it counts from, its source and when it was last reviewed — with the checker already pointed at that country.

Passport validity checker

The rule, in one minute

What this means for your Maldives trip

Maldives passport questions, answered

Check the rule for a specific country