Airlines required to share passenger data with Maldives immigration under new rules

Airlines operating flights to and from the Maldives will be required to provide passenger and booking information to Maldives Immigration before arrival and departure under new regulations.

The Regulation on Providing Maldives Immigration with Information on Aircraft Arriving in and Departing from the Maldives and Persons Travelling on Such Aircraft was published on Friday and will take effect from 30 October.

Under the regulations, airlines will be required to provide information on all passengers and crew, including details relating to travel agents and bookings.

Airlines must begin sending test messages through a messaging platform designated by Maldives Immigration from 15 October, ahead of the requirement to submit production data. Airlines beginning operations to the Maldives after the regulations take effect will be given 30 days to complete the technical requirements.

The regulations state that one of their main purposes is to establish procedures for providing Immigration with information on aircraft and passengers before they enter or leave the Maldives.

They are also intended to enable authorities to identify, before arrival, foreign nationals involved in serious crime and organised crime, as well as people linked to terrorist organisations or suspected of such links.

Passenger information must be submitted in two forms: Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.

API must be submitted when check-in closes and again when boarding closes.

PNR data must be provided twice — first 24 hours before departure and again one hour before departure.

Different deadlines apply to private jets and charter flights arriving in the Maldives. For flights lasting less than three hours, the information must be provided at least 30 minutes before arrival. For flights exceeding three hours, it must be submitted at least one hour before arrival.

Private jets and charter flights departing from the Maldives must submit the required information at least 30 minutes before departure.

The information required under the regulations includes a passenger's address while staying in the Maldives and telephone number. It also includes travel status, travel history to the Maldives, details of the travel agency involved and the name of the person who made the booking.

The requirements apply to passengers and crew on all flights arriving in and departing from the Maldives, including private flights and jets.

They also apply to charterers and agents of such aircraft, aircraft captains and other responsible parties, as well as operators providing scheduled or non-scheduled air transport services to the Maldives.

Maldives Immigration has been authorised to impose a fine of MVR 2,000 for violations of the regulations.

Immigration may also require additional information or exempt certain information from submission where circumstances warrant. The authority may adjust submission deadlines after considering factors including the distance between the Maldives and the airport from which a flight is operating.

The regulations require the confidentiality of information submitted to Immigration. The data may only be shared with relevant officials within Immigration or, where necessary, with an intelligence agency dealing with terrorism-related matters.

The introduction of the passenger data requirements comes as changes are also being made to the taxation of overseas businesses involved in selling Maldives tourism services.

Under amendments to the Goods and Services Tax framework, the destination principle will apply from October to services provided by overseas booking platforms, travel agents and tour operators in relation to the Maldives, bringing those services within the GST framework.

The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators has opposed the tax changes, while travel agencies have also raised concerns about the amendments.