More than 24,600 Indians were deported from 81 countries in 2025, according to the data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, with Saudi Arabia topping the list.
The MEA data showed Saudi Arabia deported 11,000 Indians this year, compared to 3,800 deported by the United States. Most of the deportees from the US were private employees. This was also the highest number of Indians deported from the US in the last five years.
A further break down of Indians deported from the US shows that 3,414 were deported from Washington DC and 234 were deported from Houston. Other countries with a notable number of Indians deported are Myanmar (1,591), Malaysia (1,485), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (1,469), Bahrain (764), Thailand (481) and Cambodia (305).
Among students, deportations were highest from the UK (170), followed by Australia (114), Russia (82) and the US (45).
“Gulf countries host large numbers of Indian migrant workers in construction, caregiving, or domestic roles. Many are low-skilled, and some face minor legal issues due to lack of awareness or fraudulent agents, leading to deportation,” Bheema Reddy, vice-chairman of the Telangana government’s NRI advisory committee, told the Times of India.
Reddy added that deportations from Myanmar and Cambodia were because some Indians were being lured by promises of high-paying jobs and forced into illegal operations such as cybercrimes.
MEA statement on deportations
Some of the common reasons for deportation, especially from Gulf nations, include overstaying visas and residency permits, working without legal permits, absconding from employers, or involvement in criminal and civil cases.
In a statement, the external affairs ministry said that most countries do not share information on illegal stays unless it requires to verify deportation or the nationalities of the people concerned, the MEA said in its statement in the Upper House.
“Deportation procedures vary from country to country; some countries detain the deportee, while others deport directly if valid travel documents are present. Indian Missions are contacted mainly for nationality verification or issuance of Emergency Certificates,” the statment said.
Indian nationals can access assistance through by approaching its Missions, emails, 24×7 helplines, grievance portals such as MEA in Aid of Diaspora in Distress (MADAD), Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and eMigrate and social media.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has established the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) to tackle cybercrime, it added.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Mohammed Baleegh | 
