President ratifies amendment to revoke foreign ownership of land

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, this Tuesday, ratified the constitution amendment which annulled the right of foreigners to own land in Maldives.

The amendment to Article 251 (a) of the Maldivian Constitution states that no foreign citizen or party may have the right to own any part of Maldives.

The amendment has now been published on the Government Gazette.

Land ownership rights were granted to foreigners for up to 99 years via an amendment to Article 251 (a) of the Constitution during the previous Maldivian administration.

One of the former ruling party, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s own lawmakers – South Maafannu MP Abdulla Rifau (Bochey) submitted legislature to revoke the amendment in November, 2018.

The amendment was passed by the vote of 64 lawmakers on April 15.