When all doors across the world were shut, India's doors were always open for Maldivians: HC Sudhir

When all doors across the globe were shut, the doors of India were always open for the Maldives, says High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir.

In an interview with RaajjeMV at the India-Maldives Roundtable “Connect to Travel” meeting held at Hotel Gen on Tuesday evening, High Commissioner Sudhir stated that Maldives always has a very special place in the hearts of Indians, and for Maldivians, when all doors across the world were shut, Indian doors will always be open.

He noted that the special visa regime was facilitated for the Maldives while keeping the love for Maldives in the hearts of Indians, in mind.

With this being said, Sudhir stated that India made sure that Maldivians continued to travel for essential medical purposes, even after the entire globe had shut borders for travel.

Over the last year or so, over 12,000 medical visas were granted to Maldivians, which was a low number in comparison to the demand for it. Sudhir added that more than the amount granted could not be facilitated due to the travel restrictions all over the world.

From October 15, the doors of India will once again be open to Maldivians with no visa requirements, whether it be travel for medical, tourism or business purposes.

India in Maldives announced the neighboring country’s decision to once again granted visa-free travel for Maldivians, on October 10. Maldives is the first beneficiary of visa-free travel since the implementation of Covid-19 restrictions in the neighboring country in March 2020.

With this, the bilateral visa-free agreement dated December 2018 will be restored.

In a press release, the high commission revealed that the Visa Facilitation Agreement signed between Maldives and India during the state visit of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to India in December 2018 will be implemented once again. Thousands of Maldivians had availed of visa-free travel under this agreement, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this, Maldivian nationals will not be required to acquire a visa for a duration of 90 days to visit India. Free student visas for Maldivian youth will also be facilitated.

All categories of Indian visas were suspended following the closure of India’s international borders on March 23 last year. Despite this, a special exemption was granted to Maldivian nationals to visit India for medical purposes after obtaining visas from the high commission, during June last year.

The exemption in case of was granted due to the high demand for medical visas in the past three to four months and relating to the special relations that exist between the two countries.

The high commission revealed that strong people-to-people relations will be further strengthened with this humanitarian gesture.