Do South Korean passport holders need a visa for the Maldives?

By Saurabh Pathare · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated August 31, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

No. South Korean passport holders receive a free tourist visa on arrival in the Maldives, with no pre-approval to arrange. The passport rule is where this route differs from almost everywhere else: the Maldives asks for only one month of validity rather than the usual six, but refuses entry outright to anyone whose passport validity was extended rather than reissued.

Quick facts

Visa-free

Visa required: No, granted on arrival
Cost: Free
Passport validity needed: One month, not six
Extended-validity passports: Refused entry
Machine Readable Zone: Required
Pre-approval: None needed

Entry requirements

A passport or travel document containing a Machine Readable Zone, valid for at least one month.
A passport whose validity was not extended. Maldives Immigration states that passengers with extended validity in their passports are not allowed to enter.
The onward leg’s own requirements, since the Maldives expects you to satisfy the entry rules of wherever you are going next, including that destination’s visa and passport validity rules.
A complete travel itinerary: confirmed return journey tickets, a prepaid confirmed booking at a registered facility, and sufficient funds for the stay, or else a pre-approved sponsorship visa from Maldives Immigration.
A submitted Traveller Declaration. Every arriving foreigner must file it electronically through the IMUGA portal, free of charge, and it can be completed up to 96 hours before arrival.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate where applicable. Children under one year of age are exempt.

The passport rule, which runs the opposite way to habit

There is nothing to apply for. Maldives Immigration grants the tourist visa on arrival and states that tourists do not require pre-approval, so the work on this route is entirely about arriving with the right documents.

Check the validity figure and then check how you got it. The requirement is a machine-readable passport with at least one month of validity, which is unusually short and will surprise anyone used to planning around six. But the same rule adds that passengers whose passports carry extended validity are not allowed to enter, so a book that meets the one month only because its expiry was pushed out by endorsement does not qualify.

Look past the Maldives at the rest of the itinerary. Immigration also lists the entry requirements of your onward destination, including its visa and passport validity rules, among the things to satisfy. A passport comfortably valid for a Maldives stay can still be short for the country you fly to afterwards, and that is checked here rather than only there.

Good to know

The six-month rule that governs most long-haul planning does not apply here, and knowing that is worth real money. Maldives Immigration asks for one month of validity. A traveller who assumes six and finds their passport four months from expiry may rush an unnecessary renewal before a holiday, when the trip itself was never in question. The number to check is one month, and it is published as such.
How the validity was obtained matters as much as the date on the page, which is a genuinely unusual rule. Maldives Immigration states plainly that passengers with extended validity in their passports are not allowed to enter. Some countries extend an existing passport by endorsement rather than issuing a new book, and where that has happened the expiry date printed or stamped is not accepted here. If your passport was extended rather than replaced, treat the Maldives as a country that will refuse it and get a new one.
A Machine Readable Zone is a hard requirement rather than a modern convenience. The two lines of characters at the foot of the photo page are what the requirement names, so handwritten, emergency or otherwise non-machine-readable travel documents fall outside it. It is the same class of trap as the extended-validity rule: the passport can be current and still be the wrong kind of document.
The Maldives checks where you are going next, not only that you are leaving. Immigration lists the onward destination’s entry requirements, including visa and passport validity, among the conditions. So an itinerary that continues to a country with a six-month rule brings that rule into this journey, and the shortest validity requirement on the trip is not necessarily the one that decides whether you board.

Frequently asked questions

Do South Korean citizens need a visa for the Maldives?

No. A free tourist visa is granted on arrival and no pre-approval is required.

How much passport validity do I need?

One month. The Maldives does not apply the six-month rule that most long-haul destinations use.

My passport was extended rather than replaced. Is that a problem?

Yes. Maldives Immigration states that passengers with extended validity in their passports are not allowed to enter, so an extended passport should be replaced before travelling.

Does my passport need to be machine readable?

Yes. The requirement is a passport or travel document with a Machine Readable Zone.

Does the Maldives care about my onward flight?

Yes. Immigration lists the entry requirements of your onward destination, including its visa and passport validity rules, among the things you must satisfy.

Other destinations for South Korea passport holders

South Korea passport holders visiting Singapore

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 31 August 2026.

Maldives Immigration, Tourist Visa - On Arrival: "Tourist visa is granted on arrival to the Maldives. Foreigners traveling to Maldives as tourists do not require pre-approval for the visa. However, visitors must satisfy the basic entry requirements to get immigration clearance upon arrival." Read 2026-08-31. https://immigration.gov.mv/visa/tourist-visa
Same source, Entry Requirements: "A passport or travel document with Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) with at least 1 month validity. (Passengers with extended validity in their passports are not allowed to enter.)" Read 2026-08-31.
Same source, further entry requirements: "A complete travel itinerary, including confirmed return journey tickets, prepaid confirmed booking at a registered facility, and sufficient funds to cover the stay in the Maldives, or a pre-approved sponsorship visa from Maldives Immigration." No monetary figure is published alongside "sufficient funds", so none is quoted here. Read 2026-08-31.
Same source: "All foreigners arriving in the Maldives must complete and submit the 'Traveller Declaration' form. The form can be completed up to 96 hours (4 days) before your arrival in Maldives. Submission of the form is free of charge and must be filled electronically via the IMUGA portal." Read 2026-08-31.
Same source: entry requirements also include the requirements of the traveller’s onward destination, "for example, the visa and passport validity", and a yellow fever vaccination certificate where applicable, with children under 1 year of age exempt. Read 2026-08-31.

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

Explore the Maldives guide →Check another passport →