The parliament, on Monday, rejected an emergency motion filed over the proposed amendments to the Immigration Act, which moves to grant resident visas for migrants who have resided in Maldives by way of rent for over a decade.
Submitted by Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla, independent representative for Haa Dhaalu Atoll's Nolhivaram, the motion was rejected by 19 votes stemming from parliamentarians representing the super-majority holding Maldives Democratic Party (MDP).
A total of 16 votes were cast in favour of the motion.
Referring to the motion, MP Nasheed Abdulla said the amendments were proposed in order to facilitate residency for roughly 25,000 expatriates belonging to powerful neighbouring countries.
Furthermore, he noted that the provisions would lead to the country granting citizenship to such individuals, and thus becoming a threat to the country's sovereignty and religious unity.
"If 25,000 people were given permanent residency and eventually citizenship, it will enable foreign countries to exert great influence in the coming elections", said the lawmaker.
He further alleged that armed foreign intelligence operatives are currently in the country, adding that foreign ambassies have funded and compelled media agencies to effectively censor critical news regarding the respective foreign nations.
The contentious proposal was initially submitted during the parliamentary debate phase, following the review of the bill by the Parliament Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations on last Thursday. The bill was then sent back to the committee for further discussion.
In response to the motion, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, stated that he did not submit a proposal to amend the Immigration Act, claiming that amendments were submitted by the Chair of the Committee, MP Ibrahim Shareef, who represents Addu City's Maradhoo constituency.
However, MP Shareef previously tweeted an initial news article regarding the Speaker's statements, in which he claimed that Mohamed Nasheed wished to grant such visas to long term residents.
Nevertheless, addressing Monday's sitting the Speaker attributed his suggestion to the exclusion of the Committee's findings in their finalized report.
Speaker Nasheed previously recommended that the amendment include a minimum of MVR 100,000 investment as required criteria to apply for resident visas. Although he proposed an amount, Naasheed acknowledged that the committee was yet to decide on any particular criteria.
In its current state, resident visas are granted solely to migrants who are married to Maldivians and for individuals that have made significant investments in the country.
Summoned to the parliament for further inquiry into the matter, Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail said that he would consider granting resident visas in connection to investments valued over USD 500,000.
However, Minister Fayyaz stated that the current regulation allows individuals that invest more than USD 50 million, or a minimum of USD 1 million in a state project, to apply for such visas.
Backing the report, Fayyaz maintained his opinion that the amendments were adequate as is, and was not in need of further change.
He then revealed government intentions to draft a permanent residency law, which would accord greater rights for the visa holders.
Suggesting the establishment of a 'Second Home Programme' as an alternative to issuing resident visas, requiring a minimum investment of USD 300,000, Fayyaz said while such policies are as-yet in the development stage, an exact date for publicising the move was unconfirmed.
The minister also emphasized the "more pressing" need to increase periods between visa renewal dates for persons married to Maldivians. He then suggested increasing the validity of such visas to five years, a notable increase compared to the one year period that is currently granted by the state.
During the discussion over the allotted visa period, an official representing Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, spoke up in support of Minister Fayyaz's suggestion.
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