Maldives Central Bank Limits $1,000 Medical Dollar Sales to Six Countries

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has restricted the sale of USD 1,000 at the official rate for medical treatment abroad to six countries, announcing the list today. In a statement issued by the central bank, the MMA said that from today the USD 1,000 will be sold only to people travelling for medical treatment to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the UAE. Previously, the MMA sold USD 1,000 through Bank of Maldives (BML) and Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) from the beginning of last year, regardless of the destination country, once documents proving travel for medical treatment were submitted. The MMA said today that specific countries were designated to ensure that the foreign currency provided for medical treatment is an amount that can be spent directly for that purpose. Although the countries for which dollars will be sold to Maldivians travelling abroad for medical treatment at their own expense have been limited, those travelling for treatment through Asandha will continue to receive USD 2,000 as before. The MMA also said that USD 41.1 million had been sold for medical purposes by the end of last month, which is three times higher than the amount for the same period last year. "A large part of this amount is the foreign currency provided to Maldivians travelling abroad for medical treatment at their own expense. Since the start of selling USD 1,000 to Maldivians travelling abroad for medical treatment at their own expense from August last year, the total amount sold for medical treatment has increased very significantly," the MMA statement said. USD 29.2 million had been sold for travel abroad for treatment at personal expense by the end of last month. The article was reported by Aasima Nizar and published on 13 October 2026 at 14:55.