topic

Migrant Workers

Business & Tourism

Migrant worker mandate transferred to economic ministry

The immigration department will stop granting work permits and issuing quotas in March.

13 Feb 2019, 9:00 AM

Culture

Undocumented workers denied healthcare

A Bangladeshi man died last week as hospitals refuse to treat expatriates without passports or work permits.

17 Jan 2019, 9:00 AM

Culture

Human rights watchdog laments treatment of migrant workers

There was outrage after hundreds of migrant workers were illegally ferried to work.

06 Oct 2018, 9:00 AM

Culture

Undocumented migrant workers labelled ‘national security threat’

Around 130,000 migrant workers are believed to live in the Maldives, including 60,000 undocumented ones.

03 Jun 2018, 9:00 AM

Business & Tourism

Outward remittance dips by almost 40 percent

The Maldives Monetary Authority said US$66.8 million dollars was wired as foreign remittance in 2017, with 46 percent of it going to Bangladesh and most of the rest sent to India and Sri Lanka.

02 May 2018, 9:00 AM

In Pictures

The migrant workers of the Maldives

There are about 130,000 migrant workers in the Maldives, mostly from other South Asian countries.

16 Feb 2018, 9:00 AM

Culture

Expat workers warned against protesting

There have been regular opposition protests in the capital demanding the release of high-profile prisoners.

14 Feb 2018, 9:00 AM

Culture

Almost 100 expats detained for screening

28 Sep 2017, 9:00 AM

Culture

Ihavandhoo council’s restrictions spark debate about treatment of migrant workers

The council ordered all foreign workers to register within five days, imposed a curfew of 10 pm, and prohibited public gatherings with the exception of Friday afternoons. Foreign workers were also banned from fishing, collecting wood, fronds or coconuts, and participating in events without invitation.

21 Jun 2017, 9:00 AM

Culture

5,000 ‘irregular’ migrant workers sent back

Some 5,000 migrant workers have been repatriated this year due to “irregularities” such as expired work visas and lack of valid travel documents.

29 Aug 2016, 9:00 AM

Politics

Maldives to tax migrant workers

The parliament approved Wednesday a new bill imposing a tax of three percent on remittances sent abroad by the Maldives’ expatriate labour force.

18 Aug 2016, 9:00 AM

Crime

Man arrested on suspicion of ‘torturing’ Bangladeshi worker

“The Bangladeshi man came to the police station and complained that he was being beaten up and ill-treated by his sponsor. External signs of physical abuse were found on his body on inspection,” the police spokesman told The Maldives Independent.

13 Jun 2016, 9:00 AM

Culture

Bangladeshi man stranded at sea in attempt to flee employer

A fishing boat found a Bangladeshi migrant worker stranded at sea in an alleged to flee from his employers at a resort under construction on a northern island.

11 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM

Business & Tourism

Ban on foreign cashiers ‘killing’ small businesses

More than 60 businesses across the country have been fined by MVR10,000 (US$648) over the past year for employing foreigners, local media report. Small business owners say they are unable to hire Maldivians as the job is poorly paid and seen as socially unacceptable.

06 Jan 2016, 9:00 AM

Culture

International Migrants Day march in Malé called off

A walk to mark the International Migrants Day was cancelled on Friday following alleged interference by the police.

20 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM

Business & Tourism

No money for the folks back home

Why a government plan to levy a three percent tax on migrant worker remittances has drawn concern among human rights advocates.

16 Nov 2015, 9:00 AM

Business & Tourism

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.

03 Sep 2015, 9:00 AM

Business & Tourism

Maldives to deport foreign cashiers

Migrant workers found working as cashiers will be deported immediately, the department of immigration has warned. A “special raid operation” has been launched in Malé today to identify expatriate cashiers.

06 Aug 2015, 9:00 AM

Politics

Maldives placed back on US human trafficking watch list

“The government did not initiate any prosecutions and there were no convictions in 2014, a decrease from one conviction in 2013, and some officials warned businesses in advance of planned raids to investigate suspected trafficking offences or other labour abuses,” reads the US State Department’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons report.

28 Jul 2015, 9:00 AM

Politics

Eight Bangladeshi men arrested for gambling

A total of eight Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in the Maldives June on charges of gambling. They were arrested during police raids and caught with large sums of money and card decks.

01 Jul 2015, 6:10 PM

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