The Maldives has lowered the percentage of foreign inhabitants lacking full biometric identification to nearly one percent, positioning the nation alongside Singapore and the United Arab Emirates at a standard that the government considers a major global achievement.

Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan highlighted the advancements during his speech to the High Council of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC), mentioning that expatriates account for nearly one-third of the nation's population.

When the present administration assumed control, government records indicated that 295,678 expatriates had permission to live in the Maldives.

Nevertheless, only 22,700 had undergone fingerprinting and been directly recognized via government documents.

The government then initiated a comprehensive biometric registration campaign, gathering fingerprints and various identification details from overseas residents throughout the nation.

Officials have now collected biometric data for about 294,000 expatriates, achieving coverage of around 95 percent of the registered foreign population.

Considering those who have departed the country, only 1,102 foreign residents still in the Maldives lack complete biometric documentation.

The government reports that four percent of the previously unverified population is now confirmed to no longer live in the Maldives, resulting in around one percent of expatriates currently in the nation lacking recorded fingerprints and photographs.

The government has recognized managing the foreign population as a national security priority, especially due to ongoing worries regarding undocumented and irregular expatriates.

Authorities are maintaining efforts to enhance the oversight of work permits and consistently check the legitimacy of immigration records.

The government claims that these actions aim to create a more lasting framework for overseeing the foreign population, tackling irregular migration, and enhancing national security.

The government states that keeping the unknown foreign population at about one percent positions the Maldives among just three nations globally to achieve this figure, alongside Singapore and the UAE.