The number of Indians immigrating to countries in the Arabian Gulf has increased by 50 percent in the first seven months of the 2022 – compared to the whole of 2021, new data showed.
Around 189,000 emigration clearances were issued for the Gulf from January to July this year alone, which signals a new wave of migration after the crippling Covid-19 pandemic.
“Economic recovery in the Gulf region and their increasing openness to travel from India has now seen a return by many Indian workers,” India’s minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said as reported by Wam.
In 2021, only around 132,700 clearances were issued, and in 2020, which was the peak of the pandemic, there were only around 94,000 clearances, the minister said.
The ambitious digital drive and growing startup incubation in the UAE, coupled with opportunities for investors and workforce is fueling a talent flow to the country.
UAE is the top destination for Indian workers abroad ahead of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and Oman. According to Ministry of External Affairs, the majority of NRIs, almost 7.6 million are living in the Middle East.
In data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs 2020 data, almost 13.6 million Indians live outside of India. The largest portion of this number, 3,41,000 resides in the United Arab Emirates.
Emigration clearance is required from the Indian government for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers as well as certain professionals such as nurses, notified from time to time, for taking up employment in 18 countries including the GCC states.
Indians who have already worked abroad for three years, income taxpayers and some other categories of Indians also do not need emigration clearance prior to travel.
In 2018, Indian workers migrating to Gulf region dropped 21% with total number of Indian migrants cleared by the emigration department of India’s foreign affairs ministry to the Gulf countries at about 300,000.
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