[Republic of Maldives] Over 281,000 expats are in the Maldives

[Republic of Maldives] Over 281,000 expats are in the Maldives
16 Sep 2021

Economic Minister for the Maldives, Fayyaz Ismail, has stated that records show over 281,000 expatriates are currently in the Maldives, Avas reports.

Henveiru Central MP Ali Azim specifically asked for the figures on the number of Bangladeshi workers and undocumented workers in the Maldives and Minister Fayyaz was summoned to the Parliament to shed light on the matter.

In his response, Minister Fayyaz said that the most recent records show 281,000 foreign workers are in the Maldives and out of those workers 63,750 people are from Bangladesh. However, as a result of a flawed database system used by Maldives Immigration to keep records in the past, the minister said the available figures may not be accurate.

The earlier system has records of 70,000 expatriates but it does not have further details on when they arrived in the Maldives, whether they are still in the country or if their deposits have been paid. In addition, their passport numbers are not correctly recorded in the system, Minister Fayyaz added.

“Out of these 70,000 people, we have identified around 1000 people under our Regularization Program. Now we are aware that out of these 70,000 people, many people have already left the country. This happened as the Expat Online System was not linked to cancellations when these people departed from the country. However, efforts are now underway to resolve the issue,” the minister said.


Source: Avas

Economic Minister for the Maldives, Fayyaz Ismail, has stated that records show over 281,000 expatriates are currently in the Maldives, Avas reports.

Henveiru Central MP Ali Azim specifically asked for the figures on the number of Bangladeshi workers and undocumented workers in the Maldives and Minister Fayyaz was summoned to the Parliament to shed light on the matter.

In his response, Minister Fayyaz said that the most recent records show 281,000 foreign workers are in the Maldives and out of those workers 63,750 people are from Bangladesh. However, as a result of a flawed database system used by Maldives Immigration to keep records in the past, the minister said the available figures may not be accurate.

The earlier system has records of 70,000 expatriates but it does not have further details on when they arrived in the Maldives, whether they are still in the country or if their deposits have been paid. In addition, their passport numbers are not correctly recorded in the system, Minister Fayyaz added.

“Out of these 70,000 people, we have identified around 1000 people under our Regularization Program. Now we are aware that out of these 70,000 people, many people have already left the country. This happened as the Expat Online System was not linked to cancellations when these people departed from the country. However, efforts are now underway to resolve the issue,” the minister said.


Source: Avas

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