Maldives makes bank deposits mandatory for expatriate salaries

Employers in the Maldives will be required to deposit the salaries of expatriate workers into bank accounts held in the employees’ names under an amendment to foreign employment regulations published on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology published the third amendment to the General Regulation on Expatriate Employment in the Government Gazette.

Under the amendment, salaries payable to all foreign employees working in the Maldives under employment contracts must be deposited into bank accounts opened in their names.

The accounts must be held at banks registered with or licensed by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The requirement will take effect 30 days after the amendment was published.

The change means employers will be required to make salary payments through the banking system rather than using other methods of payment.

The amendment comes as the government continues efforts to regulate foreign employment and address the number of undocumented expatriate workers in the Maldives.

The government has also been providing opportunities for undocumented foreign workers to regularise their employment status and enter the formal employment system.