Ministry of Economic Development and Trade last Thursday, on July 04, announced that expatriates will be restricted fully from owning and operating 25 different business activities.
Economic Ministry announced this decision, in line with the Maldives government’s ongoing efforts to control the growing expatriate population – especially illegal immigrants.
The government earlier launched a nationwide crackdown – ‘Operationa Kurangi’ – that would see all the foreign workers in the Maldives identified and put into a registry. The aim is to trace for illegal expatriate activities.
Economic Ministry’s Thursday decision is aligned to ensure the expatriate worker population is brought under proper control. As such, the government has banned the involvement of foreigners as proprietors or owners of the following business activities;
- Retail Trade (inclusive of online trades/e-commerce)
- Wholesale trade – except construction materials
- Domestic logistics
- Postal and courier services
- Operating F&B outlets and eateries (such as cafes, restaurants, bakeries and similar outlets)
- Rental activities (inclusive of heavy-duty and construction machinery)
- Employment and recruitment agencies
- Travel agencies, tour operators, reservations and related businesses
- Landscaping
- Public administration and activities related to national security and defense
- General tuition class and Quran class
- General clinic
- Repair services for computers, general goods, consumer electronics and appliances
- Programming and broadcasting
- Legal practice
- Photography and videography
- Development and operation of picnic islands
- Commercial transportation involving vehicles
- Manufacturing rubber and plastic-based products
- Woodworks and carpentry (except furniture)
- Mining and coring
- Sand mining
- Forestry
The issue of illegal businesses operated by foreigners is a prevalent issue, which has not been addressed properly before.