Quick summary
Maldives Immigration requires every arriving traveller — infants and airline crew included, Maldivian citizens excepted — to file a free IMUGA Traveller Declaration within 96 hours before arrival, and airlines check the QR code before boarding. The only official portal is imuga.immigration.gov.mv, and no fee applies.
Copycat sites charge $20 to $100 per traveller for the same free form. Filing 24 to 48 hours before your flight leaves room to fix errors, and a phone screenshot of the QR code is enough.
The circular that set the current IMUGA Traveller Declaration rules took effect on 09 January 2024. On 10 October 2026, the declaration is still mandatory for everyone flying into the Maldives, subject to the exemption for Maldivian citizens. It is a boarding document, not a landing formality.
Miss the filing window, or file on a look-alike site, and the QR code airlines scan will not exist.
Travellers from North America, Europe and Australia or New Zealand all use the same portal. The requirement reaches every person on the booking, not just the traveller who bought the tickets.
What the IMUGA rule is and who must submit
Maldives Immigration made the online Traveller Declaration mandatory for all arriving passengers and airline crew on 20 November 2023. The circular that governs the current process sets out the rules. Maldivian citizens are the only group exempt. Every other nationality and departure point is covered, so a family flying from Toronto, Manchester or Perth follows the same process.
Each traveller files one form; there is no group or family submission. That includes infants and children. A family of four produces four QR codes.
Since August 2024 there is no departure declaration; Maldives Immigration retired that requirement, leaving only the arrival form. COVID-19 entry requirements were also removed by early 2026, which leaves the IMUGA declaration as the single pre-flight document specific to the Maldives.
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How to submit within the 96-hour window
The window opens 96 hours before arrival, not before departure. Filing a week ahead falls outside it. For a long-haul itinerary from North America, Europe or Australia and New Zealand, the window usually opens while you are still at home.
Have three things ready: your passport, your arrival flight details and a face-on digital photo. The first step is scanning or uploading the passport data page, and the personal details must come from the passport itself, not the airline booking. State the purpose of visit truthfully: the tourist visa issued on arrival covers a short visit, not employment or study. Permit number fields appear only for travellers the permit applies to; if you are not asked for one, there is nothing to fill in.
Submissions can be edited through IMUGA. That allows a mistyped passport number or a wrong flight number to be corrected before you reach the airport.
What happens at the airport
The QR code is checked twice: at the first point of departure and again at the immigration counter in Malé. Airlines verify the declaration before boarding, on the first leg of a multi-leg itinerary rather than on the final flight into the Maldives. A traveller starting in New York, London or Auckland is screened there.
A digital copy is enough.
A screenshot in your phone’s photo gallery satisfies the check, and Maldives Immigration does not require a printed hard copy. Gate Wi-Fi and mobile data are not guaranteed.
A family of four holding three QR codes still has one traveller without a declaration. Travellers continuing to a resort by seaplane also have a timing question to plan around, covered in our guide to Maldives seaplane transfer arrival timing.
Avoid fake sites and fees
IMUGA is free. Maldives Immigration states that the Traveller Declaration is a self-declaration form and is free of charge. The only legitimate domain is imuga.immigration.gov.mv. Addresses ending in .com, .org or .net are not Maldives Immigration.
As of 22 April 2026, copycat sites were reported to charge $20 to $100 per traveller for the same free form. Some also request passport details and travel plans they have no reason to hold.
There is no fast-track or premium IMUGA tier. Any page offering one is selling something the government does not offer.
Entry basics beyond IMUGA
The declaration is not a visa. Most travellers receive a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival with no pre-approval. Maldives Immigration decides entry at the port of entry; a return ticket and a confirmed booking do not guarantee it. Your passport must contain a machine-readable zone and be valid for at least one month.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required only if you are arriving from or transiting a yellow fever risk area. Since 15 April 2025, entry is not granted on Israeli passports.
The US State Department’s Maldives guidance notes that travellers may be asked for proof of onward travel and evidence of sufficient funds, and that local law restricts alcohol, vaping devices and certain religious material. Those checks sit alongside the IMUGA declaration rather than replacing it.
The 96 hours before your first flight
The arrival time sets the filing window; the first departure is when the airline needs the declaration. Maldives Immigration’s guidance is to reach the portal directly rather than through a search result.
- Set the reminder for 24 to 48 hours before your first departure, and file then rather than at the airport.
- Type imuga.immigration.gov.mv into the browser yourself rather than click a sponsored result, and treat any request for card details as the signal to close the tab.
- File one declaration per traveller, infants included, and save every QR code to your phone as soon as it appears, in one folder that opens offline.
- Watch: any schedule change that moves your arrival outside the original window, and contact the airline and Maldives Immigration before you fly.
Completing the declaration takes little time. Before you fly, the action is to file.
Reporting by
Questions? Answers.
Do I need to complete IMUGA if I am only transiting airside in Malé without entering the country?
Official pages address arriving passengers and do not clearly cover pure airside transit. Confirm with your airline and Maldives Immigration before you fly, because the airline is the party that checks the declaration at your first departure point.
Is a printed IMUGA QR code required, or is a phone screenshot enough?
A digital copy is sufficient, per Maldives Immigration, so a screenshot on your phone works. A printout is only a backup for a dead battery or a wiped device.
Can I edit my IMUGA declaration after submission if my flight details change?
Yes. Submissions can be edited through IMUGA, so a corrected flight number can be saved to the same record instead of starting again.
Can I submit the IMUGA declaration a week before my flight?
No. The window is 96 hours before arrival, and Maldives Immigration recommends filing 24 to 48 hours before the flight. A week ahead is outside the window.
Is the IMUGA form the same for all nationalities and departure airports?
Yes, with one exception: Maldivian citizens are exempt from the declaration. Everyone else, airline crew included, files the same form regardless of passport or where the journey starts.
