Controller General of Maldives Immigration Mohamed Ahmed Hussain has called on island councils to play a more responsible role in resolving the problems of illegal expatriate workers in the society.
In a tweet, the immgiration controller said illegal and undocumented expatriate workers view islands as safe havens as a large majority of them find work in islands. The controller urged all councils to be more proactive and play a responsible role in impeding illegal expatriate workers from working freely. He further applauded the efforts of some councils who took the initiative to take preventive measures and called on other councils to follow suit.
The number of foreign workers who are working illegally and undocumented is a huge concern for the Maldives. Immigration is working with island councils to monitor their movements.
Immigration has also recently held meetings with the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation to mitigate the travel of illegal workers from one island to the other. Discussions were held on measures the administration could implement to ensure all expatriates could work legally in the Maldives as a number of them stay in islands after travelling with false documents. The establishment of a system to record their movements was also part of the discussions during the meeting.
It is estimated over 60,000 expatriates work in the Maldives illegally without proper visa and documentation.