Paperwork that comes before the SIM
Maldives Immigration grants a tourist visa on arrival and says visitors do not need pre-approval. It does ask for a passport with a machine-readable zone and at least one month of validity, a complete itinerary with a confirmed return ticket, a prepaid booking at a registered facility, and evidence of enough funds to cover the stay. Those items are checked at the immigration desk, so keep the booking confirmation somewhere that opens without a signal.
Every arriving foreigner, children included, must also complete the Traveller Declaration through the government's IMUGA portal, which the immigration service says can be done up to 96 hours before travel and costs nothing. The authority warns that unofficial websites charge fees for the same form and tells travellers to use only addresses ending in .gov.mv. Doing the declaration before a SIM purchase matters for a practical reason: the portal needs a connection, and the first signal you have on arrival is the one you are trying to buy.
Immigration also lists a yellow fever certificate for travellers coming from or through countries where the disease is a risk, with an exemption for babies under one year. Entry rules change, so read the current page on the day you travel.
Ooredoo's tourist range and how it is delivered
Ooredoo Maldives publishes a tourist page with three plan shapes. At the time of checking, Tourist $40 offered 20 GB of data and 150 minutes of calls plus MVR 100 of credit, Tourist $50 offered 100 GB made up of 30 GB regular data and 70 GB of social-media data with 300 minutes and MVR 150 of credit, and a Tourist $100 plan was described as an airport-shop exclusive with 125 GB, 300 minutes and a free MiFi device. The page describes the minutes and SMS as part of the plan and does not state a validity period, so confirm the number of days before paying; one visitor article gives 30 days for the main plans.
The same page lists four ways to get the line: a digital eSIM with instant activation, a physical SIM ordered online and collected at the airport shop, entering the number of a blank SIM for instant activation, or buying at the airport shop or a self-service kiosk. Ooredoo's online shop marks the $40 and $50 packs as eSIM compatible and asks buyers to check device support first. A visitor guide published by the tourism-focused site maldives.com adds that eSIM verification involves passport details and a selfie.
In the $50 plan the 70 GB is described as social data, which suggests messaging and social apps rather than maps, video calls or software updates. Treat the 30 GB regular allowance as the number that matters for navigation and streaming.
What to expect in the arrivals hall at Velana
According to the maldives.com visitor guide, both operators have a presence at Velana International Airport. It describes a Dhiraagu business centre at the exit from international arrivals together with vending machines, and an Ooredoo outlet. The Commonwealth's travel information portal likewise says visitors can buy prepaid SIMs at the airport, in retail outlets and at operator service centres.
The guide says a passport is needed to register a SIM. Carry the physical passport rather than a photo, and expect the activation to be tied to the name on it. Dhiraagu's own pages could not be opened when we checked, so we are not quoting its current tariff; look at the operator's tourist SIM page for present offers before choosing between the two.
A late or crowded arrival is not the moment to compare tariffs on a small screen. If you want a local line, consider ordering the eSIM or an airport-collect physical SIM in advance so that the stop at the counter takes minutes, and keep the transfer operator's number saved offline.
5G reach, and what it does not tell you about the water
Dhiraagu launched commercial 5G on 6 August 2019, initially in selected areas around Malé and Velana airport, Addu City with Hithadhoo, and Haa Dhaalu Atoll with Kulhudhuffushi. TelecomTV noted at the time that it worked on a single Huawei handset. That is history, but it explains why the central atolls were the first to get fast networks.
Ooredoo reported in March 2025 that its 5G covered 80 percent of the country, across 79 inhabited islands and eight resorts, with more than 225 5G sites, up from 60 percent in August 2024. These are the operator's own figures and describe population or area coverage as Ooredoo defines it, so they do not guarantee a signal on every resort or sandbank.
The Communications Authority of Maldives publishes monthly figures. For December 2025 it listed 826,615 mobile subscriptions, of which 596,002 were prepaid. That shows a mature prepaid market; it is not a coverage map.
The maldives.com guide says that both operators advertise nationwide 4G and that connections can drop on boat journeys. It also says resort Wi-Fi is widespread but strongest in lobbies and restaurants and weaker in rooms farther from the main building. If you rely on working remotely from a villa, ask the resort how the signal behaves where you will actually sit.
Moving between islands with a phone that may drop out
The UK Foreign Office notes that most island resorts are reached by boat and asks travellers to follow safety briefings and check that life jackets are carried, especially on small excursion boats. It adds that many resorts are more than an hour from the nearest hyperbaric chamber, which matters to divers. Boat legs are also where a phone is least likely to hold a data session.
Download offline maps, your booking confirmations, the resort's phone number and your transfer operator's number before leaving Malé. Save the hotel's WhatsApp or email contact if it is an official channel, and screenshot the boarding or ticket reference for the speedboat or seaplane. A message that cannot send at sea is not a safety problem if the plan is written down somewhere the whole group can see.
Emergency numbers and a data-only eSIM
At the time of checking, the Maldives Police Service homepage listed 911 as its emergency number and 332 2111 for general enquiries. Several visitor guides still quote 119, which we could not confirm from the police site, so ask your resort or guesthouse to confirm on arrival and write the number down with the reception line.
If you carry a tourist plan that includes calling, test that voice works while you are still in Malé or in the hotel, and keep a second route such as the hotel phone. The UK Foreign Office lists a tourism hotline for the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, +960 942 3131, for tourism enquiries.
Keeping the home number alongside a local plan
Apple's guidance for travellers says an iPhone needs to be unlocked to use a local carrier, that setup needs a Wi-Fi connection, and that the line used for cellular data can be chosen under Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data. iMessage and FaceTime keep working on the home line while a travel eSIM carries data. Check Settings, General, About for the line 'No SIM Restrictions' before buying anything.
Google says Pixel 3a and later phones can combine one physical SIM with one eSIM, and Pixel 7 and later can run two eSIM profiles when the carrier allows it. Samsung says recent Galaxy models pair a physical SIM with an eSIM, and eSIMs are added through Settings, Connections, SIM manager. A phone sold for another market may differ, so check the model before you leave.
A workable set-up for a short stay is to keep the home line on for incoming calls and verification codes, with data roaming switched off on it, and to point mobile data at the Maldives line. Install the eSIM on home Wi-Fi rather than in the arrivals hall. The maldives.com guide notes that its quoted prices include GST and may change during promotions, so confirm the figure at checkout. Our own Maldives plan page covers the alternative of buying before departure.
Networks our Maldives plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Maldives, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Dhiraagu4G