Home Ministry states the recruitment of unskilled laborers from Bangladesh has been halted in light of illegal recruitments.

The Ministry’s Spokesperson Fathimath Rifaath said recruitment of unskilled laborers from Bangladesh was halted one month ago after observing some companies recruit laborers after submitting fake documents.

She added that an investigation has been launched into the matter.

Illegal migrants remain a long-prevailing issue in the Maldives. Home Ministry recently launched a special operation under the name ‘Kurangi’, as part of efforts to resolve the issue.

Biometrics from over 700 migrants have been collected as part of these efforts.

Maldives imposed a ban on the recruitment of unskilled laborers from Bangladesh in September 2019, during the former administration This administration was lifted by the current administration in December of last year.

In a press conference in December, Home Minister Ali Ihusan said 139,220 active work permits exist for Bangladeshi laborers, adding that work permit fees are being regularly paid to only 39,004 percent of them.

As of December, there were 90,642 laborers from Bangladesh residing in the Maldives, which is lower than the cap of 100,000 set forth in the Employment Act, for a single source market.