🇲🇻 Maldives Customs Guide
What customs allows you to bring into Maldives — duty-free caps, banned and restricted goods, and medication rules, from official sources.
Partially verified · Authority: Maldives Customs Service · Last verified
Some sections carry verbatim official quotes; anything still being verified is openly flagged — no invented numbers.
Two different questions. Airport security screening (TSA/CATSA — can it go through the checkpoint?) is separate from customs (may it enter the country at all?). This page covers customs after arrival in Maldives; for checkpoint rules, see the item guides.
Duty-free allowances
Layered by traveller type/return duration (verbatim ladder incl. MVR 9,000 / MVR 11,500 / MVR 14,000 tiers for returning Maldivians by absence length; used items add-on). Tobacco tier for 18+: quantities ending “…or 25 cigars, or up to 250 grams of tobacco products”; excess tobacco retained by Customs ≤ 30 days, collectible on departure. Declaration trigger: goods valued MVR 10,001+.
“Those coming back to Maldives after a period of 1 to 3 years are allowed a duty free allowance of MVR11,500. 4 Those coming back to Maldives after a period of more than 3 years are allowed a duty free allowance of MVR14,000.”
“es, or 25 cigars, or up to 250 grams of tobacco products. Quantities of tobacco exceeding these limits will be retained by Customs for a maximum of 30 days. Tourists can collect these items at the departure terminal of Velana International Airport (VIA) customs counter prior to their departure from Maldives. NOTE: *If you are carrying goods valued MVR 10,001 and above …”
“All tourists aged 18 years and above arriving from abroad shall be permitted to import, for personal use, either 200 cigarettes, or 25 cigars, or up to 250 grams of tobacco products. Quantities of tobacco exceeding these limits will be retained by Customs for a maximum of 30 days.”
Prohibited & restricted goods
VERBATIM captured: pornographic material (incl. sex toys), religious materials offensive to Islam, live pigs, narcotics & psychotropic substances. Alcohol and pork-by-product lines plus the e-cigarette/vape class appear on the same official page but render as image content this pass — text verbatim PENDING (coordinate: same URL).
“Pornographic material (including sex toys) such as books, magazines, films, videos, DVDs and software”
“Narcotics and psychotropic substances / Religious materials offensive to Islam / Live pigs …”
“Prohibited goods are goods that are banned completely: narcotics and psychotropic substances; pornographic material (including sex toys) such as books, magazines, films, videos, DVDs and software; religious materials offensive to Islam; live pigs; idols (for worship). — Maldives Customs Service (official)”
Medication & prescription drugs
PENDING verbatim (personal-use medication with prescription — official line on traveller pages renders partly as images).
Still being verified — nothing guessed
Accuracy beats completeness here. The following are confirmed gaps in our verified coverage for Maldives; each line names the official source we are re-checking, not a third-party answer:
- Pending vape/e-cigarette prohibition line verbatim
- Pending medication line verbatim (same official page, image-rendered sections)
- Pending returning-Maldivian ladder item 1-2 lead-in text
- Pending alcohol import-prohibition line verbatim (restricted tab of same official page — image-rendered section, OCR pass pending)
Maldives customs FAQs
What is the duty-free allowance for Maldives?
Layered by traveller type/return duration (verbatim ladder incl.
What items are prohibited or restricted at Maldives customs?
VERBATIM captured: pornographic material (incl. sex toys), religious materials offensive to Islam, live pigs, narcotics & psychotropic substances. Alcohol and pork-by-product lines plus the e-cigarette/vape class appear on the same official page but render as image content this pass — text verbatim PENDING (coordinate: same URL).
Can I bring medication into Maldives?
PENDING verbatim (personal-use medication with prescription — official line on traveller pages renders partly as images).
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Verified against official sources. Rules change — for high-stakes items, confirm with your airline and the screening authority. Our verification method →