From where were most Indians deported in 2025? Not America, Gulf countries are at the forefront

Saudi Arabia has left America far behind in the matter of deporting Indians. According to the latest data of the Ministry of External Affairs presented in the Rajya Sabha, more than 24,600 Indian citizens were sent back from a total of 81 countries in 2025. The surprising thing is that most of the deportations were not from America, but from Saudi Arabia. This year, more than 11,000 Indians were returned to India from Saudi Arabia.

Apart from Saudi Arabia and America, the countries from where a large number of Indians were deported include Myanmar (1,591), Malaysia (1,485), UAE (1,469), Bahrain (764), Thailand (481) and Cambodia (305). At the same time, it was also revealed in this report that the maximum number of Indian students were sent back from Britain. 170 students from Britain were returned to India in 2025. This was followed by Australia (114), Russia (82) and America (45).

Why were Indians sent from America?

According to the data, about 3,800 Indians were deported from the US in 2025, most of whom were private sector employees. This is the largest number recorded from America in the last five years, although this number is much less than Saudi Arabia.

Experts say that the main reason for this is the strict scrutiny in America on documents, visa status, permission to work and those who overstay, which has become more strict in recent years. In most cases, Indians were sent back for staying in the country even after the expiry of their visas.

What is the reason for deportation from Gulf countries?

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, common reasons for deportation, especially from Gulf countries, include overstaying a visa or residence permit, working without a valid work permit, violating labor laws, deserting the employer, and being embroiled in civil or criminal cases.
 
Why does the situation of deportation arise?

Bheema Reddy, vice-chairman of the NRI advisory committee of the Telangana government, said that this situation is common in Gulf countries, because a large number of Indian workers go there. He said that most of the people are engaged in construction work, caregiving or household work. Many of them are less educated and go abroad through agents. They get into trouble due to greed for extra income or lack of knowledge of the rules.

He also said that many times people get trapped due to the fraud of agents and when caught abroad, they are deported. The pattern of deportations from Myanmar and Cambodia is different. According to Reddy, forced labor related to cyber crime is often seen in these cases. People are taken there with the promise of good jobs, later forced to do illegal work and finally detained and deported to India.