Application for the Income Support Allowance for the month of August 2020 has been announced to expire on 30 September.

The government started issuing Income Support Allowance on 20 May 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The allowance is provided through the MVR 2.5 billion relief package for the economy announced by the government. So far, over MVR 1 billion have been issued.

The Job Center today took to Twitter to make the announcement on the deadline saying that the applications that were returned to the user for resubmission dur to missing documents or other reasons, can still be submitted after the deadline

The Income Support Allowance regulations state that only those who either lost their jobs, had a significant pay cut, as well as those who were forced on no-pay leaves along with freelancers, will be eligible for the allowance. It also states that those who have been suspended and are on no-pay leave with receive an allowance of MVR 5,000. For those who had a pay cut, if their salary is below MVR 5000, the amount they receive now will be deducted from MVR 5,000 with the remainder being their allowance.

In addition to this, freelancers with zero income will receive the MVR 5,000 allowance. A research conducted by the Maldives National University said that five in ten Maldivians had their employment affected by COVID-19.