For those frequent travellers coming from Maldives to the UK, there can be nothing more annoying than seeing a huge queue at the “Other Passports” line. However, this can now be a thing of the past as Maldives has been included in the latest list of countries that are eligible for the Registered Traveller Service for the UK. Hurray!
The 15 countries that became eligible for the service are Andorra, Bahamas, Botswana, Holy See (Vatican City), Macao, MALDIVES, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga and Trinidad & Tobago. United States, Australia, Canada and Japan are the other countries that had already been benefiting from this service.
What are the benefits of this service?
- Can use UK and EU passport lanes (Don’t have to wait ages in the “Other Passports” queue)
- Can use the ePassport gates if your passport is an electronic passport, meaning you don’t have to be interviewed by an immigration officer
- Finally, you do not have to fill a landing card!
Eligibility
To be eligible for the service, you must:
- Be 18 years and over
- Have a valid UK Visa or Entry Clearance (Maldivians get 6 months On Arrival Visa as evident in my previous post about visa requirements for different countries)
- Must have visited the UK at least 4 times in the past 24 months.
How to Apply
- Visit the registered traveller service website (link here) and go through the application process detailed there.
- You will need to pay £70 plus have your passport and expiry date to hand.
- If your online application is successful, the next time you travel to the UK you will STILL have to go through the “Other Passports” lane and have a landing card filled out (just like before). The immigration officer will THEN decide whether you meet the criteria and tell you that you can become a member.
- ONLY AFTER THAT will you be able to enjoy the benefits of the service on your next visits.
- If your application is unsuccessful they will reimburse £50 for you.
Any questions, we’re more than happy to help out 🙂
Happy Travels!