Challenges and implications due to illegal expatriate workers

Hassan KhaleelChief Immigration officer

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

DifinitionsHuman Trafficking The recruitment, transportation ,transfer , harbouring,

or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use by force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving and receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

Difinitions

• Human Smuggling The procurement for financial or other material

benefit of illegal entry of a person into a state of which that person is not national or resident.

Contributions by migrant workers to development of Maldives

• Education sector• Tourism Sector• Health Sector• Construction industry• Aviation industry etc…..

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

How migrants becomes illegal workers

• Run away Expatriate workers finds that working

independently, can generate more income• Forced to flee Employer do not pay salary / give food and

accommodation

Assesment on expatriate workers Oct 2010

• 87,178 Legal migrant workers• 30,000 Illegal Migrant workers• 10,000 Undocumented • 18,233 New expatriate employees• 35710 Re-entry on work visa

Criminal activities of illegal migrant worker

• Financing radicalism• Human Trafficking• Migrant Smuggling• Forced labour• Debt bondage• Prostitution• Forced sexual exploitation• Kidnapping• Child abuse

Deportation Stats of 2009

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

DEPORTATION STATISTICS OF 2009

WORKING ILLEGALLY 2268 2 YEARS

ILLEGAL STAY 317 10 YEARS

USE OF DRUGS 3 LIFE

USE OF ALCOHOL 11 LIFE

SUSPECT OF PROSTITUTION 2 10 YEARS

PROSTITUTION 24 10 YEARS

FACILITATION FOR PROSTITUTION 10 10 YEARS

PHYSICAL ASSAULT 47 05 YEARS / 10 YERS

THEFT 23 05 YEARS

CHILD ABUSE 6 LIFE

INDECENT BEHAVIOUR 8 5 YEARSRECRUITING 17 10 YEARSPASSPORT FORGERY 1 LIFEOVER STYAYING IN BUSINESS VISA 5 10 YEARSUNLAWFUL ACTIVITY 8 5YEARSPRODUCING FAKE CURRENCY (RUFIYAA) 1 5 YEARS

KIDNAPPING 2 LIFE

POSSESING COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY 3 10 / 5 YEARSPREVIOUSLY DEPORTED 2 LIFEILLEGAL TRADE 4 10 YEARS

POSSESING FAKE EMPLOYMENT APPROVALS 4 5 YEARS

PREACHING CHRISTIANITY 1 10 YEARS

POSSESING MATERIALS CONTRARY TO ISLAM 1 LIFE

COMPLETED SENTENCE IN PRISON 1 LIFETOTAL 2769  

SOURCE: EXPATRIATE MONITROING AND REPATRIATION DIVISIONDEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRAITON

Possible threats to tourist Industry

• Resorts security is managed by private firms.• Private firms employee illegal migrant workers• Sub contractors who under take resort construction

or renovation projects employee illegal migrant workers

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Possible threats to tourist industry

• Migrant workers come after obtaining huge loans from so called “loan Sharks” or selling their property.

• So they are in a desperate state to secure funds to repay their loans. Gang operators can easily utilize them to engage in criminal activities including attacks on tourists and tourist facility.

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Possible threats to tourist industry

• Tourism Ministry Plans to expand tourism to local community.

Illegal expatriate who engage in kidnapping and pedophilia may target tourist.

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Challenges • Re-entry of deported personnel with genuine documents

improperly obtained.• Freely roaming in the country by illegal workers• No APIS or APP – officers are required to be very

vigilant in identifying irregular travel movements• No proper facility for keeping illegal workers till

repatriation• Appropriate amount of budget not allocated to carry out deportation process

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Challenges • Carryout monitoring process with minimum staff• Threats by gangs to monitoring officers• Inflicting harm on vehicles and homes of these

officers• No vehicle to transport illegal workers to detention

facility• No legislature to criminalize human trafficking and

human smuggling.

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Measures to overcome these challenges

• Utilizing resources and obtaining assistance from Maldives Police

Services• Drafted an act “criminalizing trafficking in person and human

smuggling” with the help of Australian attorney general.• Negotiating with IOM and DIAC to obtain an expert to reform,

identify training needs and revise migration management. First round of talks carried in Colombo with IOM Director and Australian high commissioner on 13 March 2011.

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Measures to overcome these challenges

• Switching to a full fledge state of the art technology with facial recognition and bio-matrix capture

• Station visa officers at embassies in selected countries of SAARC region to issue work visa.Discussions are in progress to post a visa officer at Maldives missions in selected countries of SAARC.

Department of Immigration &

Emigration

Measures to overcome these challenges

• Pre-screening for other visas will be carried out by this officer prior to travel to Maldives

• Introduce E- VisaThis is a concept we have in our minds to be implemented in future.

Department of Immigration & Emigration

Measures to be under taken by resorts operators and owners to deter any threats by illegal migrant

workers

• Pre-screen migrant workers of sub-contractors and security personnel

• Look for work visa cardReject any migrant worker without valid work visa card

Any other solutions ???

Thank you