Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the president of the Maldives, ratified the Third Amendment to the Maldives Immigration Act (Law No. 01/2007), following its passage by the People’s Majlis at the 20th sitting of the first session of the year, held on 15 April 2025. The amendment prohibits entry to individuals holding Israeli passports, though dual nationals may still visit using non-Israeli documents.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has since advised citizens, regardless of secondary nationality, to avoid travel to the Maldives and recommended that Israelis in the country consider leaving due to limited consular support.
“The ratification reflects the Government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” the amendment states.
“The Government of Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its enduring commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of the Palestinian people. The Maldives continues to advocate for accountability for violations of international law and remains vocal across various international platforms in its condemnation of Israel’s actions.”
Maldives supports the creation of an unprecedented militarized “Palestinian state”, ethnically cleansed of Jews and with its exclusively Muslim capital in Jerusalem.
The Government of the Maldives supports the Palestinians in the war against Israel and condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas.
The Maldives established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1965 after Israel became the third state to recognize the Maldives. Israel has provided a significant amount of humanitarian aid to the republic. The Maldives terminated the cooperation agreements with Israel and, in 2014, announced a boycott of Israeli products. The Maldives is made up of over 98% Sunni Muslim, and open practice of any other religion is forbidden. Citizenship can only be held by Muslims.
In January, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that it knew of at least 12 cases in which complaints had been filed abroad against IDF soldiers, accusing them of war crimes in Gaza. Such complaints have been filed in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Serbia, Ireland, and Cyprus. In October 2023, an IDF soldier who survived the Palestinian Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival was forced to flee Brazil after the country’s Federal Court ordered police to open a war crimes investigation on him.
While not expressly banning Israeli travellers, most international airlines have canceled their Tel Aviv routes since the war against Hamas began.
