Maldives Immigration has revealed foreigners have been found committing serious crimes after marrying Maldivians.
Senior Immigration officials made the remarks during a meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations. The committee summoned senior officials of Immigration, Ministry of Economic Development, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to question them on the issue of undocumented expatriate workers.
At the meeting, Deputy Chief Officer of Immigration Mohamed Shifan highlighted the increasing number of foreigners committing crimes in the Maldives after receiving marriage visas. He said some of the foreigners include blacklisted individuals and that they marry Maldivians for specific purposes. He also said they usually marry older women and get involved in serious crimes such as prostitution.
Furthermore, Deputy Chief Officer Shifan highlighted the difficulties in repatriating such criminals, especially when they are married with children. He added 11 foreigners have been repatriated in the past two months for selling dollars on the black market, while 46 foreigners were repatriated for prostitution.