155 expats in detention, nine arrested on Sunday: Immigration
Efforts to seek out foreigners living illegally had slightly slowed
Immigration officers during a mass inspection in Hulhumalé
155 expatriates are currently being held at the Hulhumalé Detention Center and nine illegal immigrants were apprehended during a special raid conducted on Sunday alone.
The Maldives Immigration department revealed that officials conducted a raid in Hulhumalé on Sunday, where 10 locations were searched, and nine expatriates were taken into custody.
The expatriates were reportedly residing illegally in the Maldives, in violation of the country's laws and regulations.
The department noted that efforts to find foreigners living illegally had slightly slowed, as the spaces in the Hulhumalé Detention Center had filled up.
The center has a capacity of 200 and due to previous operations, the slots swiftly filled up.
Hence, the operation was slightly hindered until the expatriates in custody could be deported.
The 155 foreigners at the Detention Center are being deported to their home countries as their documents and tickets are completed.
According to statistics shared by the department, 4,054 expatriates who were residing illegally in the Maldives were deported to their countries from November 2022 to November 2023.
The highest number of deportations was recorded in June 2024.
Among the expatriates deported by Immigration are many who were conducting businesses illegally in the Maldives and those living without proper documentation.
As part of the ongoing efforts to address issues related to expatriates residing illegally in the Maldives, mass inspections are being carried out by the authorities in a bid to identify and verify migrants staying illegally in the Maldives.
Earlier, Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shamaan Waheed revealed that one of the main objectives of the mass inspections was to identify foreigners engaging in illegal business activities and working beyond their permitted scope, acting against them, and holding their employers accountable.
The goal of the immigration department remains to seek a swift solution to the issue of illegal migrants in the Maldives, by conducting such inspections regularly. This in turn would lead to lesser economic and social damage caused by illegal migrants as well as acting against them under the Immigration law.
The incumbent administration has also assured that solving the issue of illegal expatriates in the Maldives remains a key priority.
In addition to operations in the Greater Malé Region, work is also underway to gather information on foreigners living in outlying inhabited islands, resorts, industrial islands as well as agricultural islands.
