Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology Ali Ihusan has said that it has come to the government's attention that some expatriates remain in hiding in agricultural fields on islands for years.
The Minister appeared on State media PSM's Raajje Miadhu program last night, where he spoke about the measures the government is taking regarding the issue of undocumented expatriates living in the country.
Speaking on the program, Ihusan said that the third phase of the government's efforts include locating expatriates working illegally in the country.
In the first phase, biometric data was collected of all expatriates. The second phase also included collection of data, alongside regulation of undocumented expatriates, Ihusan said.
Through this work, the government had come to learn that it was a common occurrence for undocumented expatriates to live under the radar on larger islands, especially those with thriving agricultural industries, the minister revealed.
"We found out that in islands like L. Gan, K. Kaashidhoo and AA. Thoddoo, there are expatriates in the agricultural industry who have remained in hiding on the farms for years, staying undetected through not leaving those lands," Ihusan said.
In the third phase of Operation Kuran'gi, authorities will work to locate the 4,040 expatriates who have not provided biometric data, which includes those in hiding on farms, Ihusan said.
"We will comb through the entire country and locate these 4,040 individuals. Whether they are still here or not. We will check who amongst these got on a vessel without verification and the vessel later sank. Incidents like this have happened. There have been fire incidents as well," Ihusan said.
"There are now only this amount (4,040) of these individuals who the State cannot account for in the instance that such an incident occurs," he said.
Ihusan said that the most important task in the third phase will be to locate these individuals, and to detain and deport them.
The next step would be to identify those who are legitimately in the country, but are working illegally, he said. Under this, a special focus would be on those conducting business illegally, the minister added.
This includes running corner shops, market stalls, salons, agricultural farms, vehicle washes, and other activities, according to the minister.
Only 20 percent of expatriates had been legally employed when the administration had come to office, the minister said, noting that this amount has since been increased to 63 percent. However, 34 percent still remain outside of the law, he conceded.
The Operation Kuran'gi, to gather biometric data of all expatriate workers, was launched in May 2024. Under this, biometric data of 191,723 expatriates was collected. This covers 98 percent of expatriates who had come to the Maldives since 2012.
