The Cabinet has decided to strengthen regulations governing the issuance of mobile SIM cards by limiting unskilled foreign workers to one SIM card each.
The President’s Office disclosed the decision yesterday among the outcomes of Sunday’s Cabinet meeting. Under the new measure, an unskilled foreign worker will be issued only one SIM card. If the SIM card is lost or damaged, a replacement will only be issued after the matter has been reported to the police.
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The President’s Office said additional numbers will not be issued unless the request is submitted to the police and processed according to specified procedures.
The Cabinet has also decided to take legal and administrative action against individuals who illegally register SIM cards and smuggle them into prisons.
According to data from the Maldives Bureau of Statistics (MBS), the total population of the Maldives reached more than 590,000 last month, including 196,024 registered foreigners. However, the authorities have previously acknowledged that many foreign workers remain unregistered and are therefore not included in official records.
The decision comes amid concerns over the misuse of SIM cards registered in the names of foreign workers. Police have previously reported cases in which SIM cards obtained using the identities of foreign workers have been used to facilitate criminal activities, including scams.
Authorities have increasingly raised concerns about the use of mobile numbers in fraudulent activities, with SIM cards registered under other individuals’ names making it more difficult to identify those responsible.
