Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology Ali Ihusan has said that at the start of 'Operation Kuran'gi', the number of expatriates living legally in the country had been at 28 percent. This number has since risen to 62 percent, he revealed.
Operation Kuran'gi is an initiative launched by the government to tackle the issue of undocumented expatriate workers in the country, a migrant regularization drive also aiming to collect biometric data of all expatriates.
At a press briefing held at the President's Office this morning, Minister Ihusan said that when Operation Kuran'gi was launched in May 2024, there was paperwork indicating that there were 148,417 expatriates falling into the categories of those whose work permit fees hasn't been paid, or those who did not possess a valid visa. However, at the time, it had been unclear whether all these individuals were still in the country, Ihusan said.
"When gauged through the system at the time, it appears that there were 28.97 percent expatriates who had complied with all required legal processes. Through our efforts over the past two years, we have increased the percentage of expatriates who have full documentation and have paid all fees from 28 percent to 62 percent," Ihusan revelaled.
Ihusan said that this figure only considers those whose legal status is 100 percent confirmed, as the statistic excluded any expatriate who hadn't paid the work permit fee even as of yesterday.
Ihusan further shared that as authorities had collected biometric data of approximately 206,000 expatriates over the past two years, with 2,933 remaining yet to provide the data. Maldives Immigration is aware of the identities of these individuals, he added.
"So, as of this moment, it is this number of expatriates (2,933) who are residing illegally in this country in a way that is of concern to us," Ihusan said.
Ihusan announced that Phase 3 of Operation Kuran'gi is scheduled to commence on May 2. Once this is launched, expatriates living illegally in the country will be detained and deported within a period of one year, he said.
The minister said that all expatriates outside of the documented 62 percent who are currently residing in the country will de dealt with in the same manner.
The Xpat system will show persons responsible for expatriate workers their status, as well as due dates for relevant fees, he said. As this is so conveniently arranged, he appealed to such persons to monitor the status, and pay required fees in a timely manner.
