President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has stated that efforts to expand employment opportunities for Maldivians, particularly young people, will yield lasting and meaningful results only by effectively addressing the issue of undocumented expatriate workers.
The President made these remarks while delivering the Presidential Address at the first sitting of the first session of the 20th People’s Majlis for the year 2026.
In his address, the President noted that as a result of policies implemented to increase the number of educated Maldivian youth and Maldivians across all age groups, a total of 21,174 job opportunities have been created since 17 November 2023. Statistics from the Pension Office reveal that this includes 6,724 jobs in the private sector. He further announced that, effective from 5 February 2027, only Maldivians will be permitted to work as cashiers. In addition, the President stated that at least 25,000 more job opportunities are expected to be created for Maldivians over the next year.
The President also noted that between 17 November 2023 and 3 February 2026, a total of 11,496 undocumented expatriates were repatriated from the Maldives.
He stated that the ongoing operation to address undocumented expatriate workers would be completed by 2 May 2027, at which point the actual number of undocumented expatriates in the Maldives would be confirmed. The President emphasised that the issue of undocumented expatriate workers would be resolved permanently through these efforts.
