Maldives Government Vows to Resolve Undocumented Expatriate Issue by May 2027

Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology, Ali Ihusaan has said that the Maldives will eliminate the long‑standing problem of undocumented expatriates by May 2025. 

Speaking at the “Ahaa” forum – a public platform that allows citizens to pose questions directly to ministers – he underscored that previous administrations treated the surge of illegal migrant workers as a low priority, but the current government has taken a “zero‑tolerance” approach.

“The difference is evident in the numbers,” Ihusaan told the audience. 

“When we took office, the Ministry’s records listed about 295,000 expatriates, yet only 22,000 of them had fingerprints and a verifiable profile.” 

He went on to detail the rollout of “Operation Kurangi,” a coordinated effort that combined border‑control tightening with a nationwide biometric enrollment campaign. 

“To date, we have captured the biometric data of roughly 260,000 workers – leaving just 1 percent of the foreign resident population unregistered.”

Minister Ihusaan highlighted that the Maldives now joins Singapore and the United Arab Emirates as the only three nations where the identity of resident expatriates is unknown for merely one per cent of the total. This, he said, places the archipelago on an “internationally accepted benchmark” for migrant management.

The Minister outlined the next phase of the operation, which will separate documented migrants from those without legal status and will begin the deportation of individuals working outside the scope of their original entry permits. 

“By May next year, we aim not only to close the registration gap but also to ensure that every expatriate in the Maldives is either lawfully documented or repatriated in accordance with our immigration laws,” he affirmed.

Human‑rights groups have welcomed the push for comprehensive data while urging the government to guarantee due process for any deportations. The Home Ministry has pledged to publish detailed guidelines before the second phase commences, aiming to balance security concerns with the rights of migrant workers who form a vital part of the Maldivian economy.