Gov’t Attend to Nearly 700 Immigration Cases Since July
Photo: Maldives Immigration
The Immigration Department has disclosed that it has handled nearly 700 complaints related to immigration offences over the past three months following the launch of a special operation aimed at addressing “illegal” immigration.
Since the introduction of the “Immigration Watch” platform in July, a total of 840 complaints have been submitted, with 596 cases already addressed. Of the remaining reports, 70 are still under verification, while 174 have been classified as unverifiable or irrelevant.
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A total of 840 cases have been reported to Immigration Watch since its launch on July 17, 2024.#immigrationwatchmv pic.twitter.com/6wOaZXf4wb— Maldives Immigration (@ImmigrationMV) October 17, 2024
The majority of the cases pertained to either expatriates operating illegal businesses (221 cases) or violations of work visas (206 cases). Additionally, 50 cases of prostitution were reported, along with 32 cases of missing persons. There were also 10 reports of tourist visa violations, nine instances of employer sponsor breaches, and nine cases involving drug trafficking.
Of particular note, only seven cases of human trafficking were reported during this period. The US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report has repeatedly raised concerns about the Maldives’ limited progress in identifying and investigating human trafficking, especially among migrant workers.
