Immigration raids local market in crackdown on illegal expats
The operation, which began on May 2nd, has taken biometric data and photographs in identification of hundreds of foreigners.
By
Aishath Maha
An operation has been launched to track down illegal foreigners working in the market area of the capital city Male.
The government has launched a special operation by the name 'Kurangi' to find a permanent solution to the problem of illegal foreigners in Maldives. The operation is being conducted in different parts of the country.
Kurangi is an operation conducted jointly by Police and Immigration to track down illegal immigrants. Reportedly a large number of foreigners have been apprehended from the market area, but authorities are yet confirm the number.
The operation, which began on May 2nd, has taken biometric data and photographs in identification of hundreds of foreigners.
The operation is being conducted in two phases by the police under the Homeland Security Ministry and Immigration and will be completed within three years, Minister Ali Ihsan said earlier. Thus:
-
By the end of the first year, it will be known the exact number of foreigners in different parts of Maldives and who is sponsoring them or where they are currently working
-
In the next two years, biometric identification and photo identification will be done to identify those who are undocumented
-
If there is no information about an expatriate within the government system, the embassy of his country will be contactyed to get his original paperwork that can identify him and then he will be deported from Maldives
A register of foreigners in each island will be compiled and the information will be shared with the council, Ihsan said. He said he would also try to ensure that the ministry does not lose control of the information of foreigners.
