Immigration detains 31 undocumented expats

Maldives Immigration has detained 31 expatriates living and working without necessary documentation from Dhilbahaaru Magu, a road with a high prevalence of expat-led businesses.

Immigration said today that they had detained the expats for conducting businesses illegally.

Although there are a few shops and businesses run by Maldivians on Dhilbahaaru Magu, the majority are run by expatriates. The area is widely known as an expat hub, with the lanes leading from the road housing more expat-led businesses.

Since the start of this administration, Immigration has been running operations to identify expatriates living and working without legal status in the country.

Immigration said in February that the efforts had led to the deportation of 6000 expatriates by then.