The Cabinet has decided to tighten SIM card issuance rules so that unskilled foreign workers cannot be issued more than one SIM card each.

According to the President’s Office, under the decision made at last Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, even if a foreign worker’s SIM card is damaged or lost, no additional number will be issued except through specific procedures involving a report to the police. In addition, the Cabinet has decided to take legal and administrative action against those in whose names SIM cards smuggled into prisons are registered.

This measure comes as one of the Maldives’ longest-standing problems is the large number of foreign workers residing in the country illegally. The government is running a major project to bring foreign workers into compliance with regulations. Under that project, work is underway to collect biometric data and to detain and deport foreign workers living in violation of the law.

According to figures from the Bureau of Statistics, the total population of the Maldives is 590,079. Of these, 394,054 are Maldivians and 196,024 are foreigners, and 89 percent (174,005) of the foreign population are men.