How to sell property in the Maldives as a foreigner

A foreigner in the Maldives holds a lease or a unit, not freehold land, so a resale is a transfer of that right, often with consent. A non-resident seller is subject to a 10 percent withholding on the gross payment, and the market is thin.

In brief

As of 7 November 2026, a foreigner in the Maldives cannot hold freehold land, so what you sell is a lease, a unit or an interest in a project, and a resale usually needs the consent of the party that granted the right. The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) says, in a page on Capital Gains Withholding Tax that we read through a search summary, that a non-resident's income from disposing of immovable property in the Maldives is subject to withholding at 10 percent of the gross payment, and the withholding agent files return MIRA 608. That is 10 percent of the whole payment, not of the gain. We found no sourced rule on transfer fees, agent commissions or the repatriation of the proceeds, and we give no figure for them. The market for resale is thin, so plan months, not weeks.

What you are actually selling

The first thing to settle is what you hold. Several guides say that foreigners cannot own freehold land in the Maldives and can hold only leasehold. They give residential lease terms of 30 to 50 years in some sources and up to 99 years for long master leases or branded projects in others. The terms differ by source and by project, so the document in your hands decides. Depending on how you bought, you may hold:

a lease of a plot or a villa, granted by the state or by a developer;
a unit in an apartment building or in a resort project, with a title or a lease for the unit;
shares in a company that holds the lease or in a rental pool.

A sale of shares is a different deal from a sale of a lease, with different consent and a different tax logic (the MIRA withholding page also names shares in Maldivian-resident companies, partnerships and trusts). Our articles on how ownership works for foreigners and on the risks of resort and hotel units describe the structures. Read your contract first: the length of the remaining lease, the transfer clause and the operator's rights decide the price you can ask.

Who can buy from you and how thin the market is

Because the buyer takes a lease or a unit, not land, the pool of buyers is small. For resort leaseholds, a source says that an assignment needs the consent of the Ministry of Tourism, and another says that the brand operator may have to agree as well. Land in Hulhumale phase 2 is described by one source as open only to Maldivians and to companies fully owned by Maldivians, which is a separate issue from the resale of an existing unit. We did not find an official source on the consent a foreign owner needs to resell an apartment, so ask the developer, the operator or the Ministry of Housing, and a Maldivian lawyer, before you list the object. A listing price is easy to set and hard to get; do not count on a quick sale.

Selling step by step

Collect your documents: the lease or title, the purchase contract, proof of payments, the operator or developer agreement, the rental pool terms and the tax records.
Read the transfer clause and the consents you need, and ask the party that grants the right (the developer, the operator or the authority) how it handles a resale and what it charges.
Find a buyer through the developer, the operator or a broker. A resale through the developer or operator often has a set procedure and sometimes a right of first refusal; check your contract.
Agree the price and the payment method in writing, and decide who acts as the withholding agent for the tax (see the tax section).
Get the consents and sign the transfer documents with a Maldivian lawyer. A Russian-language source says that registration of the right with the Land and Survey Authority is a condition for the validity of the deal; we could not confirm this against an official source.
Withhold and pay the tax, and file the return. Receive the money, and keep every record.
After the sale, close the rental pool, the management and the utility accounts, and hand over the unit.

If you are abroad, a power of attorney is the usual tool. We found no sourced rule on its form for the Maldives, so draw it with the lawyer who will handle the transfer.

Tax: what MIRA says and what stays open

The MIRA page on Capital Gains Withholding Tax (CGWT), which we saw through a search summary and did not open, says that income derived by a non-resident from the disposal of immovable property situated in the Maldives is covered, and that the tax is deducted at 10 percent of the gross payment. The withholding agent files the CGWT return, form MIRA 608. The tax was added to the Income Tax Regulation by the Third Amendment (sections 35-1 and 99-1), as the consolidated text of 12 September 2024 shows. The same rule covers disposals of shares or interests in Maldivian-resident companies, partnerships and trusts.

Another source, the Chambers guide to doing business in 2026, says that the Maldives has no separate capital gains tax and that gains are treated as income and taxed at 15 percent. The two statements are not reconciled in our sources. Several generic tax sites go further and say the Maldives has no capital gains tax at all; they do not mention the withholding. We trust the MIRA page over them, but we did not open the Act. Open questions that only MIRA or a Maldivian lawyer can answer: is the 10 percent final or can it be offset against your actual tax, how do you claim a refund if the withholding is too high, does a double-tax treaty apply to you, and who is the withholding agent in your deal (the buyer, the buyer's agent or a lawyer).

An illustration only: you sell a unit for USD 500,000 gross. A 10 percent withholding on the gross payment is USD 50,000, whatever your gain. If you bought at USD 450,000, the real gain is USD 50,000, and the withholding is as large as the gain itself. This is why the question of offsetting and refunds is the first question to ask.

On indirect taxes, tax advisers report that the Eighth Amendment to the GST Act was ratified on 31 August 2026, with the provisions on inbound tourism taking effect on 1 October 2026. We did not find whether it touches the resale of a unit. See also the general article on taxes when selling abroad.

Getting the money out

We found no sourced rule on currency controls for the proceeds of a property sale in the Maldives, and no statement of the central bank on non-residents sending the money abroad. So do not assume either way. Before you sell, ask the bank of the buyer and your own bank how the transfer will be handled, and keep the contract, the proof of the purchase payments and the tax documents. The general logic is in the article on repatriating money after selling abroad.

Banks and sanctions checks

Banks check the origin of funds and the passport of the sender. How strict they are depends on the bank, the country and the passport. We found no source on the treatment of sale proceeds from the Maldives for holders of Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh or Ukrainian passports, and nothing in this article advises avoiding a check. A complete paper trail helps: the purchase contract, the payments, the tax return and the sale contract. See bank checks for Russian citizens in the EU for the checklist.

Costs and timing

We found no sourced figure for a Maldivian transfer fee, a registration fee, a lawyer's fee or an agent commission, so we give none. Ask in writing for every fee, including the fee of the developer or operator for approving a resale. As a planning assumption of ours, not a sourced figure, a resale that needs consents can take three to nine months from the first listing to the money in the account.

Common mistakes

Selling without reading the transfer clause and discovering that the operator or the authority can refuse or charge for consent.
Fixing a price that ignores the remaining lease term; a short lease sells at a discount.
Overlooking the withholding on the gross payment and finding out at the closing that 10 percent of the whole price is held back.
Not agreeing who is the withholding agent and who files the MIRA 608 return.
Forgetting the rental pool and management contract, which can survive the sale or need a separate termination.
Counting on a quick sale in a market where buyers are few.

Checklist and approximate timing

Month 0: collect the lease or title, the purchase contract and the operator or developer agreement; read the transfer clause.
Month 0-1: ask the developer, operator or authority what consent and fees apply; ask a Maldivian lawyer about the tax and the withholding agent.
Month 1-5: list the unit through the developer, operator or a broker; agree the price and payment in writing.
Month 5-8: get the consents; sign the transfer documents; withhold the tax; register the transfer.
Month 8-9: file the return, receive the money, close the pool and the utilities, and keep all records.

FAQ

Can a foreigner sell property in the Maldives? Yes, in the sense that a foreigner can transfer the lease or the unit that he holds, but not freehold land, which he cannot own. The transfer usually needs consents from the party that granted the right, so read the contract and ask before you list.

How much tax does a non-resident pay on a sale? The MIRA page we read through a search summary says 10 percent withholding on the gross payment, with the withholding agent filing form MIRA 608. Another source says gains are taxed as income at 15 percent. Ask MIRA or a Maldivian lawyer whether the withholding is final and how to offset or reclaim it.

Is the 10 percent charged on the gain or on the price? On the gross payment, according to the MIRA page. That is the main trap: on a sale at USD 500,000 the withholding is USD 50,000 even if your real gain is smaller.

Who needs to approve the sale? It depends on what you hold. For a resort leasehold, one source names the Ministry of Tourism and possibly the brand operator; for an apartment resale we found no official source. Ask the developer, the operator and a Maldivian lawyer in writing.

Can I take the money out of the Maldives? We did not find a rule on currency controls for the proceeds, nor a statement from the central bank. Ask your bank and the buyer's bank before the sale and keep the full paper trail of the purchase and the tax.

How to sell property in the Maldives as a foreign owner: process, tax and getting the money out