Saudi Arabia deports more Indians than America

Saudi Arabia, not the US, has deported the most Indian citizens in the last five years. India Today reported this news on Saturday (December 27) citing official data presented by the country’s Ministry of External Affairs in the upper house of India’s Rajya Sabha. The report said that US President Donald Trump’s name is in the headlines all over the world when it comes to deporting illegal immigrants. However, the actual report says otherwise. According to Indian government data, Saudi Arabia has deported the highest number of Indians in the world during the period 2021-2025.
According to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, 8,887 Indians were deported in 2021. 10,277 were deported in 2022. In addition, the country has deported 11,486 Indians in 2023, 9,206 in 2024 and 7,019 Indians so far this year. According to the report, the Gulf region has the highest number of cases of violation of immigration laws. Officials said Indians are being deported mainly for overstaying their visas and violating labor laws.
The Gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia, is seeing a surge in repatriation efforts for overstaying their visas, working without work permits and violating residency laws, a senior Saudi official said. Meanwhile, despite the heated debate over immigration in Washington, India’s foreign ministry said the repatriation rate of Indian nationals from the United States is relatively low.