The Maldives has introduced new rules requiring employers to deposit expatriate workers’ salaries directly into bank accounts held in their names at locally licensed banks.
The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology announced the requirement on Monday through the third amendment to the Regulation on Employment of Foreigners in the Maldives.
Under the amendment, employers must deposit the salary stated in each expatriate worker’s employment contract into an account opened in that employee’s name. The account must be maintained with a bank registered with or licensed by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
The requirement will become mandatory one month after the amendment’s publication, giving employers a transition period to comply with the new payment procedure.
The measure formalises salary payments through the regulated banking system, creating a clearer financial record of wages paid to expatriate employees and strengthening oversight of foreign employment transactions.
The latest amendment follows earlier legislative efforts to regulate wage payments for foreign workers. An amendment to the Employment Act in 2016 had already introduced requirements for expatriate salaries to be paid through bank accounts.
The new regulation places the obligation directly within the country’s foreign employment framework, requiring employers to ensure expatriate salary payments are channelled through MMA-regulated financial institutions.
