In an attempt to provide equal opportunities to locals in the tourism sector of Maldives, changes have been made to the guideline for obtaining no-objection letters for foreign interns to travel under special visas.
As per the recent changes made to the guideline prepared by the Ministry of Tourism under the Maldives Immigration Act (Law No: 1/2007) of permitting special visa to foreign students as interns, for every foreign intern approved, two Maldivian interns must be trained.
Furthermore, the internship duration for local students must be at a minimum equivalent to the training duration for the foreign intern, or an internship opportunity must be provided for local interns for the training duration requested by the teaching facility the student is representing.
For verification of the opportunities provided to the local interns, the submission of internship contracts of 2 local students is mandatory along with the request made to the Ministry of Tourism for no-objection letters for foreign interns.
According to a tweet by Mohamed Khussan, Senior Policy Director of the Tourism Ministry, these steps are being taken to promote the employment of Maldivians, and to empower educated youth to gain the experience necessary to progress in their careers.
