Passport renewals prioritized over new issuances as stock levels decline

Maldives Immigration has introduced significant changes to its passport issuance policy to manage current inventory, following delays in receiving new passport stocks due to technical issues with printing machinery.

These changes are set to take effect starting August 28, 2026.

Maldives Immigration has announced that the technical issues affecting the printing machinery of the German company that has supplied passports to the Maldives since 2016 have now been resolved. However, the agency noted that the rectification process took significantly longer than initially anticipated.

Consequently, due to challenges in delivering the stock by the previously established deadline, the agency noted that the new shipment is now expected to arrive by the end of September.

Under the changes implemented in response to this situation, individuals currently in the Maldives whose passports have expired will no longer be issued new passport booklets upon application. Instead, authorities have decided to extend the validity of their existing passports until June 30, 2027.

Immigration has stated that this service will be provided free of charge, without any additional fees.

Furthermore, it has been decided that "Emergency Passports" will be issued to first-time applicants traveling for short durations to countries frequently visited by Maldivians, such as India and Sri Lanka.

This is an eight-page machine-readable passport issued for a one-year period in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. Emergency passports will also be issued free of charge.

Immigration highlighted that the German company supplying the passports has provided uninterrupted service without any issues for the past 10 years. The authority further assured that despite these changes to the passport issuance procedure, no Maldivian citizen will face any obstacles or difficulties while traveling abroad.