Government widens age range for foreign domestic servants

The immigration department has widened the age range for foreign domestic servants, drivers and attendants to between 23 and 58 years of age.

In an announcement, the government said the change was made in the wake of several complaints over challenges in employing expatriate workers within the previous range of 25 to 45 years.

“Many households have complained to us they are unable to bring back trusted maids after sending them to their country for holiday, because when they come back as they are over the 45 years’ age limit,” said Hassan Khaleel, the immigration department’s spokesman.

The lower age limit was lowered to allow households to employ “healthier and younger maids,” he said.

Some 124,000 expatriate workers are thought to be working in the Maldives, according to the government. Of this figure, some 30,000 are undocumented.

The Maldives was placed back on the US State Department’s tier two watch list for human-trafficking this year over lack of progress in the government’s anti-trafficking efforts.

The government has introduced a program called “Shared Responsibility” where undocumented migrant workers could be hired for projects with four different companies.