Under "Operation Kurangi," a project conducted to legalize expat workers, 98 percent of people have been brought into regulation within the given period, and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that work to deport the remainder will be carried out over the next six months.
While the President posted this on X, Maldives Immigration is currently conducting a special operation to locate those living illegally in the Malé area. This operation will continue until 6:00 PM.
The President stated that among the foreign workers currently established and working in the Maldives with verified active work permits, the process of collecting 10-fingerprints and clear photographs to allow for biometric identification has been completed for 98 percent.
According to President Muizzu, this figure stood at only 13 percent on November 17, 2023.
He stated that under this operation, which aims to bring a permanent solution to the issue of foreigners living illegally in the Maldives, the work to be done over the next six months is to locate those living illegally and deport them from the Maldives.
The final deadline for the mass legalization program conducted under Operation Kurangi, targeting foreign workers in the Maldives without work permits, those with expired permits, and foreigners without official identification documents, expired on the 2nd of May.
In a previous announcement, the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology stated that this was the final opportunity for illegal foreigners to enter the legal framework. The process of taking fingerprints and photographs of foreign workers and updating the database under this operation began in May 2024.
The Ministry has decided to provide job-matching services for foreigners seeking employment under this program. This is an opportunity available to unemployed foreigners who updated their biometrics within the Ministry’s opened period, upon completing and submitting a specific form requesting employment.
According to the latest information released by the Ministry, the biometrics of more than 181,093 foreigners have been updated.
