French family requested to leave over difficulties obtaining citizenship: Shamman

The french family living in Th. Veymandoo requested to leave the Maldives on their own after facing difficulties obtaining citizenship in the Maldives even before the issue came to light, said Immigration Controller Shamman Waheed last night.

Shamman told Miharu that the man who was in charge of the family's affairs was produced before the Immigration, where he told them why he was living in the Maldives and wanted to get citizenship. When instructed that he would need to go to the Foreign Ministry to get it done, he even went to the Ministry, said Shamman.

However, the french man told officers he wanted to return home after appearing at the Immigration office a second time, saying the citizenship process was difficult, the controller explained.

The man, who converted to Islam and lives under the name of Saeed, first came to Maldives on a tourist visa alone. However, he went back home and came back in 2013 with a work visa to work as a firefighter. His wife and two children came to Maldives on tourist visas, which are valid for three months.

Shamman said the man had a visa until 2019, but that even then he worked in violation of the Immigration law. As such, he was asked to change the sponsoring company, but failed to do so even when given the opportunity by the company, Shamman said.

"He said he came to Maldives because his family didn't approve of him converting to Islam, that there was no other threat. That he stayed here for so long to get citizenship...so I told him to apply to the Foreign Ministry to get that done. But since his passport and all are expired, we told that we would assist in getting the documents," Shamman said.

He said the documents are being prepared with the assistance of the French consulate.

The family first stayed in GDh. Thinadhoo after arriving in the Maldives. They then moved to Laamu atoll and later went to Th. Thimarafushi. However, it has been six years since they have been living in Veymandoo after claiming extremist beliefs in Thimarafushi. The family's youngest three children were born after they moved to the Maldives. Two of those children were born in Veymandoo.

Shamman said it is hard to believe that they would be arrested in France because they are Muslim. The couple have French passports, and the country accepts refugees and grants asylum to people from other countries, the controller said.

“He also said he came because his family doesn't approve,” Shamran said.

According to the Immigration Act, if an individual overstays their visa, they can only exit the country after paying a fine which starts at MVR 15,000 even on the first day over the visa duration. If the duration of overstay exceeds a certain duration, the legal department will follow up with the case and the individual would be deported. The Comptroller is not empowered by law to waive or reduce the penalty either.