Maldives Immigration has revealed that 257 foreigners have been deported for attempting to enter the country with a fake passport since 2019.
Tourists receive a 30-day visa upon arrival in the Maldives, which has resulted in many non-tourists applying for tourist visas. In response, the government has been increasing its border security system, which has become one of the most sophisticated in the world.
Speaking to PSM News, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer Mohamed Shifan said the database of Immigration was integrated with Interpol in 2019, which has resulted in the Maldives immigration system catching many individuals with fake or stolen passports. As such, he said 257 such individuals have been caught at the border since 2019.
Furthermore, Shifan said Immigration works with other authorities in maintaining border security and that destabilising events in other countries such as economic turmoil or civil war has caused many individuals to come to the Maldives with fraudulent documents to travel to other nations for nefarious purposes. He also the Maldives attracts individuals who travel to any country with an open border, and that 500 foreigners were deported at the border for various reasons this year alone.
The Maldives Border Security Symposium recently concluded with the participation of all border security stakeholders working to protect the borders of the country. Immigration revealed that the number of crimes committed at national borders has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.