Vaccinated travelers from Maldives granted quarantine-free entry to Japan

Japan has eased travel restrictions to allow travelers from Maldives who have completed three doses of COVID-19 vaccine entry into the country without being subject to quarantine.

According to information released on Japan’s Foreign Ministry website, both Maldives and Mexico were removed from the list of countries that were subject to tightened travel restrictions in response to the spread of the Omicron variant on Thursday.

Maldives had been added to the list on January 14. With the ease in restrictions against Maldives and Mexico, the list now has 17 countries.

Japan Foreign Ministry states that travelers from countries who have completed three doses of COVID-19 vaccine will not be subject to quarantine upon arrival.

However, travelers who have not completed three doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be subject to three days of quarantine and voluntary testing. Those who do not wish to get tested will be subject to seven days of quarantine.

SriLankan Airlines’ Country Manager for Maldives, Fauzan Fareed tweeted on Thursday morning that the ease in travel restrictions opened the door for huge market for the Maldivian tourism sector.

Prior to the pandemic, Japan had been one of Maldives’ top source markets for tourist arrivals. 44,251 tourists visited Maldives from Japan in 2019.