Government to Halt Services for Businesses With Unpaid Migrant Worker Fees
Photo: Maldives Immigration
The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology announced today they will start suspending services provided to businesses that have failed to pay fees for their foreign employees.
In a notice gazetted today, the ministry said businesses that have not paid foreign employees’ fees as mandated in the Employment Act will no longer be able to access new site registration, quota portal, or work permit services through the expat system. However, the ministry said businesses that have consistently paid their outstanding fees as per settlement agreements made with the government will be exempted from this suspension.
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
The Ministry first notified businesses of outstanding fees on 4 June 2024, revealing an unpaid total of MVR 1,765,704,400 related to foreign workers. At that time, 102,807 foreign workers were registered under 10,619 businesses. The Ministry set a two-week deadline for businesses to settle the overdue fees, warning of potential suspensions and disruptions to state-provided services.
A similar notice was issued on 24 July and again on 1 September 2024, indicating that the outstanding unpaid fees for foreign workers had reached MVR 100,000 on both occasions. In the latter notice, the Ministry offered businesses the option to enter into a settlement agreement, allowing them to repay the outstanding amounts in instalments if they were unable to pay in full.
Last year, the Parliament of Maldives amended the Employment Act, granting the Ministry the authority to fine local businesses up to MVR 50,000 for negligence towards their migrant workers. Acts of negligence include failure to pay salaries, not providing required services to employees, exploiting workers before or after their arrival in the Maldives, and assigning tasks outside the scope of the workers’ agreements. The amendment also grants relevant authorities the power to impose a fine of up to MVR 100,000 on businesses that violate the act.
