Why were more than 24,000 Indian citizens deported from around the world in 2025?

More than 24,600 Indian citizens were deported from different countries of the world during the year 2025. These figures were presented by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, which was reported by Khaleej Times.

According to the report, the highest number of deportations took place from Saudi Arabia, from where a total of 10,884 Indian citizens were sent back. Of these, 7,019 were from Riyadh and 3,865 from Jeddah.

The United States came in second place after Saudi Arabia, from where 3,812 Indian citizens were deported during 2025. 1,469 Indian citizens were sent back from the United Arab Emirates, which is the highest number in the last five years.

According to the data, a total of 3,979 Indian citizens were deported from the UAE between 2021 and 2025. 899 in 2024, 666 in 2023, 587 in 2022 and 358 in 2021 were deported.

The report said that the major reasons for deportation included overstaying the visa, working without a work permit, and violations of labor laws. In addition, fake job offers, fake recruitment, absconding from employers, and civil or criminal cases were also among the reasons.

The UAE introduced a visa amnesty scheme in 2024, which aimed to give people with illegal residence the opportunity to correct their status or leave the country without penalty.

The scheme started on September 1, 2024, which was initially extended till October 31 and later extended till December 31, 2024. According to the report, this was the UAE’s fourth amnesty scheme since 2007.

Deportations of Indian nationals were also reported from other countries, including 1,485 from Malaysia, 764 from Bahrain, 372 from Sri Lanka, 481 from Thailand and 203 from the UK. In addition, 188 Indian nationals from Canada, 133 from Georgia and 34 from Australia were also deported in 2025.

According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, most countries do not provide complete details of illegal stay and usually Indian missions are contacted only for deportation orders, travel documents or verification of citizenship.

The ministry says that Indian missions abroad also issue regular advisories against fake recruitment and fraudulent job gangs to advise citizens to be cautious.