RIYADH: More Indians Deported From Saudi Arabia Than US In Five Years

RIYADH: Despite the immigration crackdown in the US, Saudi Arabia has deported more Indians than America, according to data provided by the Foreign Ministry. The reasons for deportation involve visa overstays and labour law breaches rather than illegal border crossings.

“There are several reasons for detention and deportation of Indians abroad, including overstay beyond validity of visa or residency card, working without work permit, violating labour regulations, absconding from the employer and facing of civil or criminal cases, etc”, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh stated in a written reply.

According to a government reply, Saudi Arabia has recorded the highest number of deportations of Indian nationals worldwide from 2021 to 2025. Data provided by the Indian Mission in Riyadh indicates that 8,887 Indians were deported in 2021, followed by 10,277 in 2022, 11,486 in 2023, and 9,206 in 2024. As of the current date in 2025, 7,019 deportations have been recorded so far this year.

By comparison, the number of deportations of Indian nationals from the United States remains significantly lower.

According to data from the Ministry of External Affairs provided by Indian Missions in the United States, the Washington DC mission reported the following deportations of Indian nationals: 805 in 2021, 862 in 2022, 617 in 2023, 1,368 in 2024, and 3,414 in 2025.

In comparison, the deportation figures reported by other Indian missions in the United States, such as those in San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, Houston, and Chicago, generally stay in the double digits or low hundreds, remaining far below the levels seen in Gulf countries.

Most deportations of Indians in the US happened from Washington DC (3,414) and Houston (234).

Other countries that deported significant numbers of Indians include Myanmar (1,591), the UAE (1,469), Bahrain (764), Malaysia (1,485), Thailand (481), and Cambodia (305).

The statement mentions that the government accords utmost priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indian nationals abroad and that Indian missions take up the issue of rescue and repatriation of Indian nationals actively with the host country.