Over 1.6L Indians deported in 5 yrs; 72% from UAE

Chandigarh: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates together accounted for the largest number of the 168,665 deportations of Indian nationals over the last five years, according to data tabled in Parliament.The figures were shared on Thursday by ministry of external affairs (MEA) in response to a question by Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on irregular migration and the "Dunki route".
The data, covering the period from 2021 to 2025, shows that deportations are heavily concentrated in a small group of destination countries in West Asia, Southeast Asia, and North America regions that host large Indian migrant populations.Saudi Arabia alone recorded over 1.2 lakh deportations (72.1%) during the five-year period, making it the single largest source country. The UAE followed with 21,310, driven largely by a sharp rise in deportations from Dubai since 2023. Malaysia and Qatar also featured prominently, reflecting tighter labour and immigration enforcement post-pandemic.As many as 8,518 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States, Canada and the UK in the last five years, nearly half of them (4,122) in 2025. Deportations from the US registered a sharp spike in 2024–25, while Canada remained among the top 10 countries deporting Indians.Punjab and Haryana account for a significant chunk of these deportations but state-wise data wasn't given out.With regard to the ill-treatment of Indians during deportation, especially in the USA, Parliament was informed that Govt of India works in close coordination with the USA and other foreign governments on all matters pertaining to deportation of Indian citizens. "Such deportations are subject to an unambiguous verification of their Indian nationality. Govt is in constant dialogue with US Govt regarding the need for humane treatment of Indian nationals during such deportation operations. We have registered our concerns with the US authorities, particularly with respect to use of restraints on the deportees, especially women and children," govt informed the House.Regarding action against illegal agents, the House was informed that based on the accounts and testimonies given by returning deportees, the Centre and state govts, along with the law enforcement agencies, have registered a number of cases, and investigations are on against several illegal recruitment agents, criminal facilitators and human trafficking syndicates that run these rackets.Parliament was informed that till Dec 2025, 3,505 unregistered agents in the country have been notified on the e-Migrate portal.Surjewala had sought country-wise and year-wise details of Indians deported over the last five years, and asked whether govt had examined the role of organised human trafficking syndicates and unregistered travel agents in facilitating such movements. The Congress MP questioned govt on whether it had formally taken up concerns with foreign governments over reports of use of restraints, lack of due process, and degrading conditions during deportation operations.