The state is owed MVR 1.7 billion as unpaid fees for foreign workers, the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology has said.
Fees for 102,807 foreign workers registered under 10,619 employers have not been paid to the state, the Home Ministry said in an announcement yesterday.
The total outstanding amount was MVR 1,765,704, the Home Ministry's announcement stated.
The amount includes fines and the ministry appealed in the gazetted announcement for payments to be made by June 18.
The names of persons who do not pay before the deadline will be publicly announced, after which they will be suspended through the Xpat system and denied new permits, the announcement stated.
The Home Ministry said services related to expatriates could face delays as efforts were underway to strengthen the system and to review rules for bringing foreign workers into the country.
The government was working to identify problems in the system in order to ensure that the new system could offer speedy services and hold people accountable, the announcement stated.
"Therefore, as a result of this work, it is likely that services might be slower than usual for providing permits for bringing foreigners to work in the Maldives, such as quota, work permit, deposit refund and other services," the announcement stated.
The government has undertaken several efforts to solve the problem of foreign workers in the Maldives, including detaining workers engaged in illegal businesses and deporting them within 48 hours, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on May 1.
In his address on Workers' Day, President Muizzu said the law has to be enforced for a long period without interruption in order to solve the problem of foreigners who operate businesses illegally.
