President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided to compile and publicize a list of employers who neglect foreign workers after bringing them to the Maldives.

The president t made this decision at the cabinet meeting, after discussing the paper presented by the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology regarding this matter.

During this meeting,  with the advice of the Cabinet, he has decided on important measures to be taken to resolve the issue of illegal expatriates in the country.

Following discussions in the Cabinet, among the decisions made regarding this matter are:

1) Collecting information, ten-finger fingerprints, and facial recognition data of expatriates living in all inhabited islands, resorts, industrial islands, and islands leased for agriculture in the Maldives and identifying the expatriate

2) Running a regularization program to bring those living illegally into the legal framework

3) Implementing an Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) program for those who wish to return to their home countries voluntarily

  The Cabinet also made decisions today to strengthen the enforcement system to address the issue of illegal expatriates in the Maldives.

This includes compiling and publishing a list of employers who neglect their responsibilities towards foreign workers after bringing them to the Maldives, imposing fines on such negligent employers, and taking additional measures if such actions are repeated.

In  the cabinet meeting, it was also decided to audit businesses operated illegally by foreigners and take strict legal measures to eliminate the obstacles faced by Maldivian youth in employment opportunities due to undocumented foreign workers in the Maldives.

In addition, the Cabinet has decided to submit amendments to the Employment Act (Law No. 2/2008) to the People's Majlis within a short period of time in order to find a permanent solution to the issue of illegal expatriates in the Maldives.