‘No change’ in India’s visa policy for Maldives

There is no change in visa policy for people travelling to India, the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

Those heading to India for tourism, medical or family purposes do not need a visa if they intend to stay less than 90 days, according to India’s embassy in Male.

Wednesday’s foreign ministry tweet said the embassy had confirmed there was no change in visa policy for purposes “other than tourism” following reports of visa suspensions for Maldivians.

It is not clear what reports were being referred to in the tweet.

Earlier in the month the Immigration Department told the Maldives Independent there were no delays in giving visas to Indians.

Relations between the two countries have waned over the Maldives’ closeness with China and the state of emergency, which India has condemned.

The Maldives has taken India to task for its comments about the state of emergency, as well as telling it to stay away from the political crisis and drawing parallels with Kashmir.

More than 83,000 Indian tourists visited the Maldives in 2017. India recorded more than 67,000 tourist arrivals from the Maldives in 2016.