Maldives Immigration Celebrates Its Diamond Jubilee Anniversary

MV+ News Desk | March 24, 2025
Photo: Maldives Immigration

The Maldives Immigration is celebrating its 75th anniversary today, on March 24.

To mark the occasion, Maldives Immigration posted a video on social media with the tagline “Diamond Jubilee:  A Legacy of Service,” showcasing its employees and the organisation’s accomplishments.

advertisement

The newly appointed Controller General of Immigration, Commissioner of Police (retired) Ahmed Faseeh, expressed his gratitude to all those who have served the organisation throughout its history. He acknowledged that these dedicated employees have worked tirelessly to safeguard the Maldives’ entry and exit points, ensuring the protection of both those entering and leaving the country.

“My hope is that even in the future the Immigration’s service will expand in providing services to protect the country in an easy manner,” he wrote in Dhivehi.

History of the Maldives Immigration

According to Maldives Immigration, the country issued its first travel document in the 1950s. The Ministry of External Affairs issued the Maldivian Pass, which was valid only between the Maldives and Ceylon. It was used for fishing exports and trade purposes. 

However, the very first passport issued to a Maldivian was by the British government. The passports issued by the British High Commission of the United Kingdom, based in Colombo, identified Maldivians as “British protected person of the Maldive islands”. This was valid for all foreign travel and not just Sri Lanka.

As part of the campaign for independence from British protection, the first Maldivian passports were issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on 20 April 1964, replacing the British-issued ones. The following year, after the country gained independence, passports were further transformed on 12 December 1965, with the newly established Passport Office taking over their issuance. According to Maldives Immigration, the cost of a passport at that time was MVR 4.

Since then, Maldives has transformed the passport on four different occasions, in 1975, 1980, 1990, and 2003, before introducing the electronic passport in 2007.

The current passport is the second-generation e-passport and was introduced on January 25, 2016, by then-President Abdulla Yameen. It features a highly secure polycarbonate data page with a laser-engraved photograph and personal details. Each visa page showcases a unique design, incorporating illustrations by Maldivian artist Hussain Ali Manik. Recognised as one of the most secure biometric passports globally, it includes 34 visible and invisible security features and fully complies with the highest international passport security standards.

The Maldives is the first country in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to introduce such a sophisticated biometric passport.

The Maldives introduced a Passport Card in October 2017, a unique bio-metric multipurpose electronic card. In addition to being used as a travel document complying with the ICAO data standards, it is equipped with MasterCard services complying with the EMV standards for financial transactions. The Passport Card can be used for insurance purposes with Allied Insurance.

ރިއެކްޝަންސް
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
LATEST