The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology has stated that quota slots for work permits revoked due to unpaid foreigner-related fees and penalties will only be released after all outstanding dues are fully settled.
The Ministry previously allowed employers to pay pending fees in instalments under a concessionary arrangement. However, it has now decided that work permits issued to employers who have not promptly cleared their payments will be cancelled, provided the employer agrees to pay all related fees and penalties through the Expat System. The quota slots from these cancelled permits will only be released once full payment is made.
According to the Ministry, there are 68,000 employers registered on the Expat Portal, but only 7,900 are making regular payments. More than 8,000 individuals have been suspended from the Expat System for failing to pay fees associated with employing foreign workers.
The government has so far recovered MVR 1.2 billion of the MVR 1.7 billion owed in foreign worker-related fees. As part of its broader efforts to improve oversight of the expatriate workforce, the Ministry has also collected biometric data from over 177,000 foreigners living in the Maldives.
