Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shamman Waheed has stated that the attempts of foreigner to enter the Maldives illegally, can also be reported to the authority via the Immigration Watch portal. He made the remarks in an interview with PSM News.
Shamman noted that some foreigners enter the Maldives with the tourist visa and misuse it upon entering the country. He noted instances where the foreigners deceive the authorities with false information and identification.
The Controller General disclosed that the Immigration Watch portal launched by the authority can be used to report the illegal entering of immigrants into the country. He noted that the portal has so far received 473 reports, out of which the authority has attended to 396 reports.
Shamman noted that more than 80 reports are currently in the verification process. He added that necessary action will be taken once the verification process is completed. As part of its efforts to solve the issue of illegal immigrants, the Maldives Immigration has so far this year deported more than 3,300 foreigners who were illegally conducting businesses or were in the Maldives with incomplete documents.
The Immigration Watch Portal was launched on July 17. The platform allows Maldivians the opportunity to work with the authority to solve the issue of illegal immigrants. The platform allows anonymous reports of illegal immigrants and attempts of illegal entering. Those with relevant information can use the platform 24 hours a day. Relevant pictures and other documentation can be submitted to the portal, which can be accessed via imuga.immigration.gov.mv.
Foreign workers can only be brought into the country if there are available vacancies, and they are eligible for the work through relevant agencies, according to the Maldivian Constitution. However, numerous instances of immigrants bypassing these regulations have been reported. Efforts are underway to centralise information on all foreigners in the Maldives into a unified database, aiming to resolve related issues within a three-year timeframe. As such, work is underway to expand the operations of Immigration to identify illegal immigrants to the atolls.