The government has intensified its efforts to address the longstanding issue of undocumented foreign workers, with President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announcing a decisive six-month timeline for deportation operations.
Speaking through an official social media statement, the President outlined an ambitious initiative aimed at identifying, tracking, and removing undocumented immigrants from the islands, signaling a significant escalation in the nation's immigration enforcement strategy.
The announcement comes as Operation Kurangi, the government's comprehensive biometric data collection programme, approaches a critical milestone. According to the President, 98 percent of foreign workers currently holding active work permits in Maldives now have their complete biometric profiles—including all ten fingerprints and clear identifying photographs—registered in the national database.
This represents a dramatic improvement from the situation just over a year ago, when merely 13 percent of such workers had provided biometric information as of 17 November 2023. The dramatic increase demonstrates the effectiveness of the ongoing registration drive and the government's commitment to establishing a comprehensive monitoring system for the foreign population.
Operation Kurangi, implemented through partnerships with local island councils, has established biometric collection centres across the archipelago to systematically gather and verify information on all foreigners residing in the Maldives. The Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology has emphasised that this data collection effort will serve as the foundation for compiling a main register of foreigners living in the country.
The government is targeting a permanent solution to the illegal immigration challenge by April 2027. To date, authorities have already deported more than 6,700 individuals identified as staying in the country illegally.