Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu announced that his government is advancing legislation to permanently and unconditionally ban holders of Israeli passports from entering the country, regardless of developments in Gaza.
Speaking at a press conference at the President’s Office on Monday, Muizzu said a proposed new Immigration Act removes the conditions attached to the existing ban. “We have firmly and clearly defined in the act that no person with an Israeli passport can enter the Maldives,” he said.
Under the current law, Israeli passport holders are barred from entering the Maldives until, in the law’s words, Israel’s “inhumane actions” against Palestinians since October 7, 2023 come to an end. The new bill drops that condition entirely. It would also bar entry to anyone charged by, or subject to an arrest warrant from, the International Criminal Court.
According to the Maldives Independent, separate legislation would void any real estate sales to Israeli citizens, or to companies with any Israeli shareholding, in newly planned special zones. Muizzu said an Israeli with a second nationality might still be able to enter on another passport, but would not be able to invest, because buyers would be screened.
The Maldives first moved against Israeli travelers in June 2024, when Muizzu’s cabinet decided to amend the law to keep Israeli passport holders out. In April 2025, parliament unanimously passed an amendment to the Immigration Act, and Muizzu ratified it the same day. An earlier version of that bill would have barred all Israeli citizens, including dual nationals. It was scaled back after immigration officials said they had no way to verify dual citizenship at the border.
The ban has faced opposition from within the Maldives’ tourism industry, the backbone of the island nation’s economy. The country’s guesthouse association has opposed a blanket ban on Israeli passport holders. During the 2025 debate, hotel and tour operator associations warned it could seriously damage tourism.
The Maldives, a Muslim-majority nation of about 530,000 people, lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the 1990s and explored normalizing relations with Israel in 2010, though those efforts stalled. When the government first announced its plans in 2024, Israel’s Foreign Ministry advised Israelis to avoid traveling to the Maldives.
