Ministry of Economic Development has decided to issue employment approval to expatriates stranded in the Maldives after arriving on business or special visas and are unable to return due to closed borders.
The economic ministry decided to issue employment approval for stranded expatriates as some countries have still not reopened borders due to COVID-19. The ministry said employment approval will be issued to expatriates who arrived in the Maldives before December 2019 on a business or special visa, and who wish to work in the Maldives until they can return. The ministry added the employment approval will be issued until June 2021.
The economic ministry stated expatriates who wish to apply for employment approval must submit the request letter and provide documents of the business or special visa issued to them. The business or special visa must have been issued for a duration of more than 15 days.
The government has been working on repatriating expatriates stranded in the Maldives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, over 18,000 expatriates have been repatriated from the Maldives since last year. This also includes nearly 10,000 undocumented expatriates who had been working in the Maldives illegally.
The economic ministry states there are about 130,000 expatriates living in the Maldives, of which about 60,000 are undocumented workers.