Operation Kurangi expands to Maafushi

The ‘Operation Kurangi’ - a special operation launched by the Home Ministry last month in an effort to curtail illegal migration – has expanded to K. Maafushi.

The operation, which is set to be rolled out in phases, was launched from K. Himmafushi, on May 2.

The first phase of the operation seeks to collect the biometric data of all migrant workers in the Maldives.

At the end of last month, a Home Ministry spokesperson said they had collected the biometric data of 705 expatriates in Himmafushi.

In a post on X, the Home Ministry announced that the operation launched in Maafushi on Thursday morning.

Home Minister Ali Ihusan had said the ministry would expand the operation to five more regions “soon.”

At a session of the ‘Ahaa’ public forum back in April, Ihusan said the issue of undocumented migrants will be resolved in three years.

He said that the collection of biometric data of migrants was just phase one of the operation, and will wrap up within one year.

He said that once the data on all migrants are collected and entered into a system, the government will then regularize all undocumented migrants.

Ihusan warned that those who fail to make use of the opportunity will be deported.

However, he stressed that the goal is not to arrest and deport migrants, but to give them a chance to get regularized.