# Real estate and the Maldives Pearl Residence Buying property in the Maldives does not give you residence today. The Maldives Pearl Residence is announced, with registration of interest open and no published rules. Answer and evidence ## Can buying property in the Maldives get me residency? Not yet. The Maldives Pearl Residence is the country's announced residence-by-investment programme. The official site says it is launching in H2 2026 and offers only a registration of interest. It publishes no investment amounts, fees, property list or processing time, so any figure quoted today is unofficial. - 01 Launching in H2 2026, registration of interest only; no amounts or property rules published [The Maldives Pearl Residence](https://www.maldivespearl.gov.mv/)*OFFICIAL* 2 November 2026 The Maldives Pearl Residence today ## What qualifies for the Maldives Pearl Residence? The Maldives Pearl Residence has no published qualifying investment yet. The programme is expected to centre on pre-approved real estate projects, but the official site does not set out routes, amounts or an approved project list. Until those rules appear, no purchase can be treated as qualifying, whatever a seller or brochure says about it. Checked against the official programme site on the date shown above. From announcement to application ## How can you prepare for the Maldives Pearl Residence? The Maldives Pearl Residence cannot be applied for yet, so preparation means staying informed and holding off on any purchase made for residence. The official site takes registrations of interest. The steps below keep your options open without committing money to rules that the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has not published. - **Register your interest** The official programme site, run under the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, takes registrations of interest. Registering creates no right to residence. - **Wait for the published rules** Before committing, read the official investment amounts, fees, eligible projects and permit terms once they are published. - **Keep purchases separate** Treat any purchase made now as a property decision alone. Do not assume it will qualify later unless official rules confirm it. - **Check your file early** Identity verification, police clearance and medical documents are expected. Having them in order shortens your preparation once the programme opens. Residence, once the programme opens ## What would the Maldives Pearl Residence give you? The Maldives Pearl Residence is described officially as a distinguished residence status with lifestyle privileges and investment opportunities for global investors. The official site does not yet set out permit length, stay rules, work rights or family cover. We add those details to this page when the Ministry publishes them, not before. ### Residence, not a passport The official description is a residence status. No citizenship route has been published. ### Permit terms to come Length, renewal, stay rules, work rights and family cover are not on the official site yet, so we do not state them here. ### Tax is a separate question Personal income tax applies in the Maldives under the Income Tax Act. Whether you become tax resident depends on your own circumstances, so take advice before you move. Questions ## What do people ask about property in Maldives? The Maldives Pearl Residence raises the same questions wherever people read about it: whether property qualifies, how much it costs, and whether it leads to a passport. The answers below reflect only what the official programme site publishes today, and we say so plainly wherever the rules are still missing. ### Does buying property in the Maldives give me residency? Not today. The Maldives Pearl Residence is announced and has not published its rules. A purchase made now gives you no residence right, and no official source confirms that it would qualify later. ### What is the Maldives Pearl Residence? The Maldives Pearl Residence is the country's forthcoming residence-by-investment programme, introduced by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. The official site is maldivespearl.gov.mv. ### Is the Maldives Pearl Residence open for applications? The official site says the programme is launching in H2 2026 and offers a registration of interest. It shows no application process. ### How much is the minimum investment? No official amount has been published. Figures in circulation come from secondary sources, so treat them as unconfirmed until the programme publishes its own. ### Is there a Maldives citizenship by investment or passport by investment? No such programme has been published. The Maldives Pearl Residence is described as a residence status, and no route from it to citizenship has been set out. ### Is there a Maldives golden visa? People often use that term for the Maldives Pearl Residence. The official name is the Maldives Pearl Residence, and it is not open for applications yet. ### How long will processing take? The official site publishes no processing time. Any timeline quoted before the programme opens is an estimate, not an official figure. ### Which properties are approved? The official site publishes no list of approved projects. A marketing claim that a project is pre-approved needs confirming against an official source once the programme publishes one. ### Which other residence routes can I use now? We track open programmes in other countries. If you need residence sooner, a consultation can compare those with the Maldives timeline, based on your nationality, family and goals. ### How do I start with Mirabello Consultancy? Book a free consultation in any of our 11 languages. Tell us your goals and timing; we follow the official publications, explain what changes when the rules appear and compare routes that are already open. Official references - [The Maldives Pearl Residence: official site](https://www.maldivespearl.gov.mv/) - [Maldives Pearl Residence programme page](https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/immigration/maldives-pearl-residence-programme) ## Considering the Maldives? We follow the official publications and compare routes that are already open. --- Source: Mirabello Consultancy, verified 2026-11-02, https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/real-estate-countries/maldives Free consultation: https://www.mirabelloconsultancy.com/contact-us-for-your-free-consultation Machine-readable data: Mirabello MCP https://mcp.mirabelloconsultancy.com