Entering by boat: Maldives
What to do to enter Maldives by sea: the procedures, the papers to present and the ports where you can clear in.
Check with the authorities before you leave (last checked on 28 October 2026).
Before you arrive
- Notify the authorities 12 hours before arrival.
The steps
- Contact an agent before arrival and send your ETA (12 h before).
- Call the Coastguard on VHF 10 or 16 about 1 h before arrival.
- Coastguard, Customs, Immigration and Health board (alcohol is bonded).
- Pay entry and clearance fees via the agent; obtain the inter-atoll permit.
Papers to have on board
- Passports for the whole crew
- Crew list
- Boat papers (registration certificate)
- Outward clearance from the previous country
- Maritime declaration of health
- Going through an agent
Good to know
- A local agent is mandatory, to be appointed within 72 h of entry (except stays of max. 7 days for food and water); MVR 5,000 fine otherwise (May 2020 rules).
- Send your ETA 12 h before entering territorial waters.
- Do not go straight to the Hulhumalé anchorage (Malé): each visit there needs Customs clearance.
- Somali piracy: threat level raised in April 2026; report to UKMTO in the north-west Indian Ocean.
Ports of entry
The ports where you can clear in, and the services available there.
Malé, atoll de Malé Nord
Uligan, atoll de Haa Alifu
Prepare your arrival with Hullteam
In the app, free: the map of every port of entry and its offices with their contacts, the crew list and the entry forms filled in for you, ready to print or send to an agent.
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- noonsite.com/?p=49740
- move.noonsite.com/place/maldives/north-male-atoll/male/view/clearance
- noonsite.com/place/maldives/addu-atoll/gan/view/clearance
- maldives.net.mv/37650/maldives-relaxes-entry-rules-cuts-fees-for-tourist-yachts/
This information is gathered from public sources and sailors’ experience. It does not replace the country’s authorities, whose word is final: check before you leave.