Maldives customs allowances: what you can bring in and out

Maldives Customs lets travellers bring in goods for their own use without paying duty, within these limits:

• Personal belongings: clothes, toiletries, a reasonable amount of jewellery, watches, pens, books, magazines and portable gadgets such as a phone, camera or personal laptop.
• Other personal goods: up to MVR 10,000 in value (roughly USD 650 at the official rate), measured on the free-on-board (FOB) value. This limit rose from MVR 6,000 on 1 July 2024.
• Tobacco: up to 200 cigarettes, or 25 cigars, or 250 g of tobacco, for travellers aged 18 and over who arrive on a tourist visa.

If the other goods you carry are worth more than MVR 10,000, you must declare them, and duty is charged on the amount above the limit. Goods in commercial quantities need a declaration even when they are below the limit, and duty is then charged on their full value.

Some things never count towards the personal allowance: tobacco and nicotine products and their devices, single-use plastic items, energy drinks, vehicles, boats, and vehicle or boat spare parts.

Tobacco rules tightened in late 2024 and again in 2025:

• Only tourists get an allowance. Since 9 November 2024, only travellers on a tourist visa may bring in tobacco for personal use, within the limits above.
• Extra tobacco is held, not lost. Customs keeps anything over the limit for up to 30 days. You can collect it from the Customs counter in the departure terminal at Velana International Airport before you fly home.
• Labels matter for other travellers. Tobacco carried by non-tourist travellers that does not meet the Ministry of Health’s labelling rules is confiscated.
• Born in 2007 or later? No tobacco at all. From 1 November 2025, anyone born on or after 1 January 2007 may not buy, use or be sold tobacco in the Maldives. The Ministry of Health says this generational ban covers visitors too.

The CAA circular gives a cigar figure of 35, while the Customs website and circular say 25. Plan on 25.

Some goods are banned outright. Others are banned unless you hold a government permit, which ordinary visitors will not have.

Banned completely

• Narcotics and psychotropic substances
• Vapes, e-cigarettes and related products and devices (banned since late 2024)
• Pornographic material, including sex toys
• Religious materials considered contrary to Islam
• Idols for worship
• Live pigs

Not allowed without a permit

• Alcohol. Any alcohol in your bags is confiscated on arrival, including bottles bought in duty-free shops or on the plane. Leave it behind. Resorts, the airport hotel island and liveaboards serve alcohol under licence; local islands do not. See our guide to alcohol in the Maldives.
• Pork and pork products, including processed foods that contain pork.
• Firearms, weapons, ammunition and explosives, including replicas, harpoons and spear guns, stun devices, fireworks and flares.
• Some chemicals, such as acids, poisons and toxic substances.
• Live plants and animals, which need a phytosanitary or veterinary certificate. Dogs and dangerous animals are not allowed in at all.
• Endangered species and their products covered by CITES, the international wildlife trade convention.
• Radio transmitters above 100 milliwatts, such as some walkie-talkies, which must be inspected by the Communication Authority of Maldives.

Penalties for smuggling are severe. Under the Narcotic Drugs Act, importing drugs can mean life imprisonment and a heavy fine.

Medicines

You need a valid prescription from a registered doctor to bring in controlled medicines, and only for your own use. Customs treats prescribed medicines covering up to six months as personal use. Keep them in their original packaging and carry a copy of the prescription. Some common painkillers and sleeping tablets are controlled in the Maldives, so check before you pack. Our guide to bringing medicines into the Maldives covers this in more detail.

Drones

You can bring a drone, but flying one needs permits from the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority, plus the agreement of the island council or resort. Read flying a drone in the Maldives before you pack it.

If you carry cash or monetary instruments worth USD 10,000 or more in any currency, you must declare it to Customs. The rule applies on arrival and on departure, and covers rufiyaa as well as foreign currency.

• You can fill in the cash declaration form online on the Maldives Customs website before you travel, choosing “arriving” or “departing”.
• Since May 2024, travellers leaving with more than USD 10,000 must also explain where the money came from. Customs can hold funds that are not properly declared.

Most visitors carry far less. On Dhiffushi, for example, a Bank of Maldives ATM accepts foreign cards. Our rufiyaa guide explains cash, cards and change.

Marine life is protected, and much of what washes up on a beach or is offered for sale should stay in the country. Under the CAA circular, the following cannot be taken out of the Maldives without a valid permit or licence:

• Black coral, other corals and sea anemones
• Triton shells, conch shells (sangu), pearl oysters and giant clams
• Turtles and turtle shell (including tortoiseshell jewellery)
• Lobsters
• Sharks and shark fins

The simplest rule is not to buy or collect coral, shells or turtle products at all. Our souvenirs and shopping guide suggests better buys, such as lacquerwork, woven mats and local food products. For why turtles are protected, see sea turtles in the Maldives.

After immigration and baggage reclaim at Velana International Airport, every passenger passes through Customs. All arriving bags may be inspected.

• Nothing to declare? Use the green channel.
• Something to declare, such as goods over the allowance, extra tobacco, a permit item or cash of USD 10,000 or more? Go to the red channel and tell the officer.
• Flagged bags. Customs screens luggage and tags bags it wants to check. Since February 2024, airport gates detect tagged bags, and an alarm sounds if anyone tries to leave without clearance. If your bag is flagged, you must go to the red channel.

Customs also inspects departing passengers and their bags. Keep any receipt Customs gives you for tobacco it is holding.

The online IMUGA Traveller Declaration is separate from customs. It is an immigration and health form that every arriving traveller completes within 96 hours before arrival. See visa and entry requirements.

• No alcohol, including duty-free bought on the way
• No vapes, e-cigarettes, refills or parts
• No pork, including in snacks or ready meals
• Prescriptions with any controlled medicines
• Tobacco within the limit, if you are 18 or over and born before 2007
• Cash declared if it reaches USD 10,000
• Nothing marine in your bag on the way home

Heading to a local island such as Dhiffushi? Our Dhiffushi packing list covers clothes, reef-safe gear and the rest. For your last day, read leaving the Maldives.