Govt tightens restrictions on Bangladeshi worker entry over trafficking fears

After initially relaxing regulations on bringing in Bangladeshi workers into the country, the government has once again tightened procedures due to human trafficking suspicions.

Responding to a Right to Information (RTI) query by Mihaaru News, Homeland Security Ministry said on Tuesday that a total of 75,542 foreigners had arrived in the country under work permits between November 17, 2023 and January 30, 2025.

During the same period, work permits were issued to 17,039 Bangladeshis.

According to the Employment Act, a maximum of 100,000 foreigners can be brought to the Maldives from each country for work purposes. Based on the information available at the time, the previous government determined that the quota of Bangladeshi laborers had been exhausted and stopped bringing in workers from the country.

However, after a four-year hiatus, the incumbent government started issuing quotas to Bangladeshi workers from December 2023 onwards.

The ministry said 14,689 work permits for Bangladeshi workers were approved for 3,174 parties as soon as the quota opened up for non professional workers from the country. However, on March 30, 2024, Maldives stopped allowing the recruitment of Bangladesh after such parties began bringing in people in large numbers, with authorities flagging some transactions on human trafficking suspicions.

Later on, the regulations were relaxed following added protection measures, and the government allowed the entry of Bangladeshi workers solely for government needs, starting June 29, 2024.

This time, the government has made some changes for private individuals planning to employ Bangladeshi workers.

The ministry said the opportunity is now open for private individuals who pay regular fees and are not blacklisted to apply to bring in no more than 10 people.

"As of January 30, 2025, 2,350 work permits have been approved and issued for 510 employers including both government and private parties, following [successful] deposit payments," the information said.

The Homeland Ministry declined to share the details of the number of workers brought by individual parties, saying it concerns the interest of the third party.

From November 17, 2023 to 23 of last month, 7,375 foreigners left the country after their work permits were cancelled. Some 6,315 foreigners were repatriated following deportation.