Which country deported most Indians this year? Despite Trump's push, it's not US

The Government of India, in a statement, said that Saudi Arabia recorded the highest number of deportations of Indian nationals in 2025 due to strict enforcement of immigration and labour laws, including action against visa overstays, illegal employment and absconding workers. This comes amid US President Donald Trump’s renewed push against illegal immigration, including a crackdown on undocumented Indian nationals and stricter deportation measures. According to the Ministry of External Affairs data, tabled in the Rajya Sabha during the Winter Session, over 24,600 Indians were deported from 81 countries in 2025, with Saudi Arabia recording the highest number of deportation, while the US only coming second. Other countries that saw a significant number of deportations of Indians include Myanmar (1,591), United Arab Emirates (1,469), Bahrain (764), Malaysia (1,485), Thailand (481), and Cambodia (305). The statement also said that deportation of Indian students was the highest from the UK (170), followed by Australia (114), Russia (82) and the US (45).

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In a written reply to a question on December 18, Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, said that according to the Indian Mission in Riyadh, approximately 7,019 deportations from Saudi Arabia, was recorded in 2025. In 2024, 9,206 deportations were recorded from Saudi Arabia. Between 2021 to 2023, 30,650 Indians were deported from Saudi Arabia. Kirti Vardhan Singh also quoted data from the US, and said that between 2021 to 2023, as many as 2,284 deportations were recorded. However, in 2024, 1,368 deportations were recorded from the US in 2024 and 3,414 Indians were deported this year so far.

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From overstaying beyond visa validity to working without valid work permits, the MEA outlined several reasons behind the high deportation figures. It also said that other reasons for deportation are absconding from employers to violations of local labour laws. The government, further added that it accords “utmost priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indian nationals abroad.” It said that the government, in order curb illegal migration and fraud has issued advisories against fake job rackets, strengthened the e-Migrate portal, activated 247 Mission helplines, set up the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), among other things