Maldives Immigration has revealed while over 150,000 expatriates work in Maldives, 63,000 of them are working illegally without any necessary paperwork.
Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Ahsan Hussain stated several complaints have been received, especially in bringing expatriates to Maldives. It has been revealed the past administration did not act accordingly, Controller General Ahsan said. In this regard, he added several expatriates were brought to Maldives disregarding the relevant laws and regulations.
The controller general further noted it was identified that quotas of about 4,000 were issued for some projects, adding such actions have demeaned the trust of the public to the Immigration services. He revealed a special operation named Operation Stingray has begun to solve issues regarding expatriate workers in Maldives.
112 expatriates were deported last year for violating immigration regulations, according to statistics. Meanwhile, 531 expatriates were sent back last year as they did not meet the medical requirements.