Maldives Publishes 8 Conditions Foreigners Must Meet to Qualify for Citizenship
- The Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the full list of conditions foreigners must satisfy to apply for citizenship
- Applicants must be Muslim, at least 21 years old, and have lived in the Maldives for a continuous period of 12 years
- Foreigners holding citizenship of another country must formally renounce it before their Maldives citizenship application can be considered
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives has published the official conditions that foreign nationals must satisfy before they can apply for Maldivian citizenship in 2026.
According to the ministry's official guidance, all applications must be submitted directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Any application that does not meet the criteria will be rejected.
Conditions for Maldivian citizenship
The Maldivian government requires that any foreigner applying for citizenship must meet all of the following conditions:
1. He is a Muslim.
2. He has attained the age of 21 and is of sound mind.
3. He has resided in the Maldives for a continuous period of 12 years; he will be considered to have met this requirement if he has resided abroad for no more than six months and has lived in the Maldives for a total of more than 10 years in aggregate.
4. He has adequate knowledge of the Maldivian Constitution.
5. He can speak the Dhivehi language and has adequate education.
6. He has not committed a political offence, offences for which Hudud punishments are prescribed under Islamic Shariah, or unlawfully produced, distributed, or traded drugs.
7. He is of distinguished service to the Maldives.
8. If he holds citizenship of any country other than the Maldives, he must have renounced that citizenship in accordance with the law of that country and officially notified the Government of the Maldives of such renunciation in writing.
Maldivian citizenship: Who can apply and where?
The ministry confirmed that foreigners who meet all the conditions listed above are eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted in person to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives.
The guidance makes clear that meeting the conditions does not automatically guarantee approval, but that failure to satisfy any single requirement will result in outright rejection of the application.
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that Maldives named five African countries whose citizens are eligible for a visa on arrival.
Website to search for jobs in Maldives
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Maldives shared a website where foreigners can find work and earn a salary.
The platform, hosted under the Maldivian government's career services, lists vacancies spanning multiple sectors and occupations.
Foreign nationals can search through the available roles and identify positions that align with their qualifications and experience.
Source: Legit.ng
