The Maldives Immigration has assured the public that non-electronic passports can be used for international travel without any restrictions.

The clarification comes as the agency temporarily issues non-electronic passports due to delays in receiving stocks of passport booklets used for ordinary electronic passports.

Immigration said non-electronic passports carry the same five-year validity period as ordinary electronic passports. The fee for a non-electronic passport is MVR 600, compared to MVR 1,000 for an ordinary electronic passport. The authority noted that it is working to restore normal passport booklet stocks as soon as possible.

Immigration also said that holders of non-electronic passports who wish to obtain an electronic passport once stocks become available will be able to do so before the passport expires without paying a cancellation fee.