Over 9,000 undocumented foreigners deported, says home minister

More than 9,000 undocumented foreign nationals have been deported without biometric registration, Home Minister Ali Ihsan said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ihsan said authorities identified cases where foreign workers brought into the Maldives under employers registered in the Expat online system were not properly registered. He said the ministry had also decided to deport foreign nationals who failed to update their biometric data by November.

Ihsan said 509 foreign nationals have been deported since 15 November without fingerprint registration. With these removals, the total number of deportations has reached about 9,600.

As part of an ongoing operation to regularise foreign workers, Ihsan said biometric and personal data of around 22,000 foreign nationals have been collected and updated in the system so far.

He said the second phase of the project will begin from 1 January next year, marking the start of a process to regularise undocumented foreign nationals.

Under this phase, foreign nationals who have left their registered employers and are living without supervision will be given a three-month period to obtain valid work permits within the legal framework of the Maldives. Ihsan said this opportunity will be available from 1 April.

During this three-month window, company owners will be allowed to regularise undocumented workers through concessions that are not currently available under existing systems.

Ihsan said the final phase of the operation will run from 2 April 2026 to 1 May 2027. During this period, authorities will conduct operations to arrest foreign nationals who remain undocumented.

“The outcome will be that all foreign nationals working in the Maldives will be biometrically identified, each individual will be linked to a registered employer, and their location and information will be monitored through the system,” Ihsan said.