Maldives grants free 90-day on-arrival tourist visas for Sri Lankans

The Government of the Maldives reciprocating to a move by Sri Lanka has announced that Lankan citizens will be granted free 90-day on-arrival tourist visas for travel to the Maldives for tourism purposes.

It was last week that  Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath  announced that the government of Sri Lanka has decided to issue one-year visas to Maldivians instead of the short-term visas.

The President’s Media Division said that the decision by Maldives was made during the official visit of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

According to the PMD the facility has come into  effect from 29 July 2025.

Providing  proof of sufficient funds to cover their expenses during their stay in the Maldives and having a valid visa would be the basic requirements to obtain the 90 day on arrival visa..

Last week Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said that until now, the neighboring country’s government has only been issuing short-term visas to Maldivians, under certain conditions. However, the government of Sri Lanka has since decided to begin issuing one-year visas to Maldivians, starting 1 August 2025.

President  Disanayaka, during his  state visit to the Maldives  met with several members of Maldives’ ministerial cabinet in efforts to explore more areas of cooperation between the two countries.

President Disanayaka on the second day of his visit, first met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdulla Khaleel where he reaffirmed commitment of the Government of Maldives to working closely with Sri Lanka to further strengthen the longstanding bonds of friendship between the two countries.

President Disanayaka reiterated the commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka to continue cooperation across a broader range of areas between Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a brief statement.

After meeting the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, President Disanayaka met with the Minister of Defense, Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon to discuss enhancing bilateral defence cooperation and strengthening frameworks for safeguarding the security of the shared maritime domain.