What changed in Maldives

Foreign salary stays untaxed in the Maldives, whether you stay 30 days or 300

Personal income tax

The 3 percent remittance tax on expat salaries was repealed in 2020

Personal income tax

A full resident's worldwide income is taxed at 0 to 15 percent across five bands

Personal income tax

Active crypto trading likely counts as business income, and CARF reporting status is unconfirmed

Crypto tax and legal status

For a full Maldives tax resident, crypto gains likely fall inside ordinary income tax, but this is not a confirmed MIRA ruling

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto is not legal tender in the Maldives and no licensed exchange exists

Crypto tax and legal status

Corporate tax runs 15 percent above MVR 500,000, and where you run the company from matters

Moving your company

Foreign Investment Act 2024 sets the minimums for moving a business into the Maldives

Moving your company

No wealth, inheritance or exit tax awaits a mover in the Maldives

Leaving home: exit tax and ties

Whether the Maldives allows dual nationality is genuinely unresolved

Permanent residency and citizenship

Maldivian citizenship requires being Muslim, and takes 12 years even then

Permanent residency and citizenship

Foreigners cannot own land in the Maldives, leasehold is the ceiling

Residency routes

The employer-sponsored work visa is the normal route for a salaried mover

Residency routes

Corporate Resident Visa gives a self-funded mover three categories to stay

Residency routes

Local clients or a permanent establishment bring a MIRA registration duty

Local registrations

No Maldives tax registration needed if your only income is foreign-source

Local registrations

The Maldives has no data protection law in force yet, so you are working under your own rules alone

Data protection

Maldives employment law is unlikely to reach a foreign-employer remote arrangement

Employment law

Standard travel insurance often misses the two things that matter most here

Insurance

Aasandha does not cover you, and evacuation is the real risk

Healthcare coverage

No social security totalization agreement found, but this is a research gap, not a confirmed absence

Social security

No Maldives social security liability for a foreign-employer remote worker

Social security

A foreign employer with no Maldives presence has no Maldives payroll duty

Employer payroll obligations

Signing contracts or making management calls from the Maldives raises real PE risk for the employer

Permanent establishment risk

One employee working remotely is unlikely to create a permanent establishment for their employer

Permanent establishment risk

No tax treaty means no tie-breaker if double taxation ever comes up

Personal income tax

UAE tax residents get treaty protection, the only corridor that has it

Personal income tax

Invoicing a Maldivian client brings in withholding tax, even as a non-resident

Personal income tax

A permanent home in the Maldives makes you a full tax resident, on any day count

Tax residency

Past 183 days you become a temporary resident, and that is good news, not bad

Tax residency

Under 183 days with no permanent home, you stay a non-resident for Maldives tax

Tax residency

Remote work for a foreign employer sits in an unregulated gap, not a permitted activity

Right to work

Working for a Maldivian business without a permit is not authorized on any visit status

Right to work

Staying past 90 days without another legal basis is an overstay

Immigration and visa

The Remote Working Visa and Content Creator Visa are announced, not launched

Immigration and visa

Extend your on-arrival visa up to 90 days total

Immigration and visa

File the IMUGA arrival declaration

Immigration and visa

Free 30-day visa on arrival for every nationality

Immigration and visa