Did not deny work visas to Indians, says Maldives

The Maldives Immigration has refuted reports that it is denying work permits to Indian citizens. Immigration Controller Mohamed Anwar said that Maldives Immigration officers do not discriminate when carrying out their duties and the authority will continue to grant Indian citizens work permits and visas in accordance with the country's regulations, the Edition newspaper reported.

The comments came in response to the media reports that the Maldivian Immigration was "denying work permits and refusing to renew the permits for Indian citizens" working in the atoll nation. "We've been issuing business visas, dependent visas and work permits to Indian nationals... and we will continue to do so, within the confines of our regulations," Anwar said on Sunday.

While Maldivian citizens are required to carry any previous passports when travelling to India, Anwar said "Maldives does not enforce any such protocols on Indian citizens" travelling to their country. According to the Edition, some premier resorts in the country had reportedly stated that "Indians need not apply" on job advertisements since the Maldivian government was allegedly refusing to issue work permits to them.

It said that foreign recruitment agencies in Maldives also concurred that there had been some problems in acquiring work permits for Indian citizens recently. However, they said that work permits were still being granted to Indian citizens in white-collar jobs in the Maldives.