Minister for Home Land Security Ali Ihsan has said that expatriates living in the Maldives who are found guilty of criminal offences will be deported immediately.

Speaking on PSM's "Raajje Miadhu" program on Wednesday night, Minister Ihsan said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has transferred all institutions related to expatriates to the control of the Home Land Security.

Therefore, there are no excuses to be made regarding solving the expatriate issue, Minister Ihsan said. As part of efforts to address the issue of illegal foreigners, a mechanism will be put in place to strengthen the accountability of the expatriates brought to the Maldives.

"We will immediately deport foreigners living in the Maldives illegally, especially those who are involved in crime. At present, around 60 foreigners have been deported abroad since we took over," he said.

Minister Ihsan said that those deported included those who had committed crimes, adding that illegal immigrants in the Maldives would be allowed to volunteer and leave the country.

"We have arranged for them to declare themselves to us and stay at one of our facilities, we will take them tickets with the deposit money we have and make arrangements for them to leave the country on their own," Minister Ihsan said.

Most of the illegal foreigners in the Maldives are in distress, he said. Efforts will be made to arrest, detain, hold them accountable and deport illegal immigrants to the Maldives. Efforts are also underway to identify all expatriates currently in the Maldives at the fingerprint level.

Minister Ihsan said the aim was to take fingerprints of all foreigners in the country within a year to ensure that they were brought under the ambit of law.