Foreigners working in the Maldives will be required to receive their salaries through bank accounts under amendments to the Employment of Foreigners in Maldives Regulations.

The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology has introduced three amendments to the regulations.

The changes will take effect one month after they are published in the government gazette.

The law already requires employers to deposit the salaries and allowances of foreign workers into bank accounts held in their names at banks in the Maldives.

Under a 2016 amendment to the Employment Act, employers can be fined for failing to deposit foreign workers’ salaries and allowances into their bank accounts.

However, enforcement of the provision was previously postponed, partly because many foreign workers without valid documentation did not have bank accounts.

The regulations have now been amended to facilitate enforcement of the requirement after a large number of foreign workers were brought into compliance with the relevant regulations.

The requirement also relates to the government’s remittance tax. A 3 percent remittance tax is levied on money sent overseas by foreign workers.