The Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development has gazetted rules for registration and operation of unions.

As per the regulations, youth below the age of 16 cannot be active in unions registered across Maldives. Additionally, the regulations also stipulate that those below 18 years of age can only work with unions with permission from their parents.

The regulations also state that those below 18 cannot be union officers and that foreigners can work in a union only in the particular field that they are in Maldives for work.

Union registration requires a fee of MVR 5,000 and signatures of seven people. Unions will be registered within 3 days if all the documentation is complete.

The regulations further state that if there are two or more unions of the same kind, then a separate additional union can be formed by merger. The individual unions will be dissolved, their wealth, debts, and general members fall under the new union, and the laws and regulations of individual unions disappear.