Maldives lifts ban on unskilled Bangladeshi workers after 4yrs

• Ban was put in place in Sep 2019

• Resumption of recruitment effective from 17 Dec 2023

• Decision stems from a high-level meeting during PM Hasina’s Maldives visit in 2021

• Positive assurance given by the Maldives during a meeting on 13 Dec 2023

• New visas will be introduced, undocumented Bangladeshi workers need legalisation

• Remittance received from Maldives: $44.74m in FY20, $46.03m in FY21, $21.59m in FY22, $28.99m in FY23

The Maldives has withdrawn its bar on the recruitment of untrained Bangladeshi workers, marking a resumption after a hiatus of over four years.

"As of 17 December 2023, the government has decided to resume the recruitment of unskilled labour from Bangladesh to the Maldives. Consequently, the temporary suspension on unskilled labour from other countries to the Maldives is currently in effect," announced the Maldives’ Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology in a statement on Sunday.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam Azad thanked the Maldives authorities on behalf of the Bangladesh prime minister and the Bangladeshi diaspora in the Maldives for lifting the ban on labour recruitment.

"When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the Maldives in 2021, a high-level meeting of the governments of the two countries emphasised the importance of opening up the labour market, and this decision is an outcome of that," he said.

It is worth noting that a positive assurance in this regard was given on behalf of the Maldives government during the meeting between the Bangladesh High Commissioner and the Minister of Homeland Security of Maldives, Ali Ihusaan, on 13 December.

Counsellor (Labour) and Head of the Embassy of Bangladesh High Commission in Maldives Md Sohel Parvez said the decision to reopen the labour market for unskilled Bangladeshis is a big breakthrough.

According to him, new visas will be introduced and at the same time, those Bangladeshi workers who are staying in the country with undocumented status will also need to be legalised.

“If the employers want, they can apply for a work permit for Bangladeshis in the expatriate system,” the high commission official said, adding that everyone should be aware of the visa issues so that no one falls into the trap of brokers.

The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) has appreciated the move and expected that this will create a good opportunity for Bangladeshi workers.

“We lost the Maldives’ market as a good number of people didn’t return from the country following their entrance on visit visa. Therefore, our immigration department and the Maldives’ high commission have to remain alert and scrutinise that whether the Bangladeshis want to go to the country really have the ability to afford a vacation there,” BAIRA Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury told the Daily Sun.

He said priority should be given to legalise the undocumented Bangladeshi workers living there. He also assured that the BAIRA will ask the recruiting agencies to follow all rules strictly to ensure ethical migration to the Maldives so that Bangladesh does not lose the market again.

“We were busy in observing the International Migrants Day. We will sit with the officials of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment within one or two days to formulate policy for sending workers’ to the Maldives,” he added.

Terming the Maldives an important labour market for Bangladeshis, Chowdhury said five months ago, they, along with Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) policymakers and Bangladesh high commission officials, attended a seminar in the Maldives and requested their government to resume hiring unskilled Bangladeshi workers.

Citing the Maldives government, RMMRU last year said that some 1,30,000 Bangladeshis are working in the country. Among them, 80,000 are legal workers.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, Bangladeshi migrant workers living in the Maldives sent remittances of US$44.74 million and $46.03 million in the financial years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 respectively.

The amount has been reduced to $21.59 million and $28.99 million in fiscal years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, respectively.

The Maldives imposed a ban on recruiting unskilled workers from Bangladesh in September 2019 to solve the problem regarding illegal immigrants. Initially the ban was for one year, but the government extended it for three times.

During the ban on unskilled Bangladeshi workers, labourers from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have occupied the tourism dominated market significantly.