Maldives bans hiring workers from Bangladesh

The Maldivian government has stopped issuing new work visas to Bangladeshi workers in the country as more than 100,000 Bangladeshi workers are currently working in the country, according to the Bangladesh High Commission office in Maldives.

As per the new rules of the island country, only 100,000 workers from any country can work there and that figure cannot be exceeded, the high commission added in a notification issued on May 22.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs of Maldives has officially recently ceased the recruitment of laborers from Bangladesh following concerns over illegal recruitment in the Maldives.

Home Ministry spokesperson Fatimath Rifaath told Maldivian media that the decision to halt the import of Bangladeshi workers was implemented approximately a month ago.

This move comes in response to the discovery that certain companies were recruiting laborers by submitting falsified documents and an investigation into these activities is underway, Rifaath revealed.

Moreover, the government also launched a nationwide operation to address the issue of undocumented migrants.

“Operation Kurangi” and the authorities have collected the biometric data of 705 expatriates as part of the operation.

But in the notification, the high commission explained the issue claiming the suspension is due to a fulfilled quota for Bangladeshi workers, and they were continuously making efforts to increase the quota and re-introduce visas.

The notification also directed the migrant aspirants that there is no such thing as a free visa.

“You have to work in the company from which you got the visa.  Violation of this law will subject you to legal action and you may be arrested and deported at any time,” the notification added.

Several unskilled workers of Bangladesh have already been arrested and deported for this reason, read the notification.

All those who are currently working in this country and those who will come to Maldives in the future are again requested to be careful about this, the notification directed.

In September 2019, the former president of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih banned the recruitment of unskilled workers from Bangladesh.

The ban was later lifted by the administration of new President Mohamed Muizzu in December last year.

After a long break, the labor market for the Bangladeshi workers was re-launched again on December 17, which led to recruitment of illegal workers by some unscrupulous gangs.

A number of Bangladeshi migrant workers have been cheated by going to Maldives with free visas and many of them are unemployed with the fear of arrest.

Actual figures

Earlier in December of the last year, in a press conference, Home Minister Ali Ihusan disclosed that there were 139,220 active work permits issued to Bangladeshi laborers, with only 39,004 of them reportedly paying the required work permit fees regularly.

As of December, the number of Bangladeshi laborers residing in the Maldives stood at 90,642, which is below the cap of 100,000 provided in the Employment Act for a single source market.

Usually, Bangladeshi workers mainly work in tourism and hospitality, such as hotel staff, restaurant waiters, and chefs in Maldives and they have to pay around Tk3-4 lakh in migration costs.

According to a study by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in 2023, only 53% of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Maldives receive the promised wage, with an average monthly income of Tk35,147.

Documented Bangladeshi workers in Maldives earn an average monthly income of Tk37,066, while undocumented ones earn Tk25,650, the study also revealed.

Moreover, 33% of Bangladeshis in Maldives work in hotels and resorts, 25% in construction, 7% as day labourers, 2% each as domestic workers and in the fisheries sector.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, in July-April of FY24, Bangladeshi workers sent $31.69 million as remittances from Maldives.