Reportedly, the Cabinet had decided to bolster the issuance of mobile SIM cards by restricting migrant workers considered to be unskilled, in a decision aimed at tightening telecommunications rules, alongside regulating illegal activities in prison. 

The decision was made on 16th August, at the Cabinet meeting where it was determined that an additional, or replacement SIM card can only be granted through police clearing in the context of stolen or damaged cards, thus will not be granted or bought freely.

Furthermore, the Cabinet has declared to ensure legal, as well as administrative action against those who are found to have smuggled registered mobile SIM cards into correctional facilities.

This measure correlates to larger initiatives in regards to undocumented migrant workers, where the government launched a nationwide project with the aim of deporting those who are in the country without documentation, in hopes to regularize foreign workers. 

According to the Bureau of Statistics, shows a huge number of the population in the Maldives are migrant workers. An estimation of 590,079 being the total population, where 196,027 of it are noted to be foreign workers.

Moreover, reports also showcase a significant imbalance in gender amongst migrant workers, where 89 percent account for the male population, whereas only 10 percent of female migrant workers reside in Maldives.