The government has sent back 817 illegal immigrants since taking office on November 17, the Maldives Immigration said today.
The Home Ministry has formed the National Task Force on Combating Illegal Expat Operations to tackle the problem, Immigration said in a statement, adding that 22 operations have been carried out by the special task force.
Additionally, 15 operations were conducted in collaboration with police and Immigration intelligence, the statement added.
Speaking at a joint press conference held by the Immigration, Home Ministry and the police, Immigration Controller Mohamed Shammaan that 527 foreigners were sent back home under the reintegration program while the remaining 290 were deported.
The illegal immigrants include those who have committed various crimes such as theft, drug abuse and prostitution, he said.
Shammaan assured that Immigration would continue to conduct such operations to identify and deport illegal immigrants.
The problems related to undocumented workers in Maldives started growing in the late 2000s. All the governments, since then, have tried to solve the issue.
The most recent government from 2018 to 2023 banned recruiting workers from Bangladesh. Most undocumented workers in the Maldives come from Bangladesh.
However, the new government has changed the rules to allow unskilled laborers from Bangladesh.
According to Article 65 of the Employment Act, the maximum number of foreign workers allowed from each country is 100,000. The latest figures released by the Economic Ministry show that there are 139,220 Bangladeshis in the Maldives.
In the statement issued today, Immigration said the problem of "illegal immigrants had been unaddressed in the past." However, the former government carried out a regularization program for undocumented workers.
The program was the largest effort ever made by a government to solve the problem of undocumented workers.
