Foreign Ministry brings some issues to the attention of Maldivian students in Malaysia

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Maldivians not to depart to Malaysia for studies before receiving the document from the Malaysian Immigration Department confirming student visa.

Foreign Ministry said this in a statement issued today to bring several issues to the attention of Maldivians travelling to Malaysia following the recent arrest of several Maldivian students in Malaysia. The statement advises Maldivians to obtain the document confirming the student visa from the relevant university and to carry the passport whenever they leave home while in Malaysia. It also states that if the passport has been submitted to the university to obtain or extend visa, they should carry the document given by the university whenever they leave home while in Malaysia.

The ministry also reminded Maldivians living abroad to email their details to the Maldivian High Commission or Consulate in the relevant country. It also requested Maldivians living in countries which do not have an official representative of Maldives to email their details to [email protected].

A group of Maldivian students in Malaysia were arrested by Malaysian police at the end of last month. Four students were initially arrested, out of which three were released because they were carrying their passports. The remaining student was held under arrest because he was without an official travel document, as his passport had been submitted to the university for visa purposes.