- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the most popular destination that Indians are seeking abroad for employment, the Narendra Modi government told the Indian parliament on Thursday (29) citing last five-years’ statistics from the government’s Bureau of Immigration.
V Muraleedharan, the minister of state for external affairs, told the Lok Sabha or lower house of the parliament that the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region made up four of the five destinations for overseas work among both professionals and blue-collar workers from India.
The only non-GCC country among the top five is the United States, Muraleedharan told Lok Sabha member Manoj Rajoria who sought to know “country-wise, where the maximum number of India’s youth travel abroad for jobs”.
The destinations are in the following order: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and Oman, according to the minister.
“With a view to facilitate safe and legal overseas employment to the youth, especially from vulnerable sections of society, aspiring for jobs abroad, the government has put in place the e-Migrate portal with details of registered recruiting agents in the country,” Muraleedharan said, adding, “The portal also details the names of unregistered/illegal agents functioning in various states” in order to warn job-seekers against falling into traps.
Under India’s Emigration Act, semi-skilled and unskilled workers going abroad are required to obtain prior emigration clearance from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE). Professions that have been notified by the POE from time to time also need prior emigration clearance.
Muraleedharan also said that in the past five years, overseas workers seeking prior emigration clearance have come from the following states of India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
