Media Center

QUESTION NO.387 REGISTRATION FOR ECR PASSPORT HOLDERS

December 12, 2018

LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.387
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2018

REGISTRATION FOR ECR PASSPORT HOLDERS

387. SHRI JAGADAMBIKA PAL:


Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) the State-wise data of the number of Emigration Check Required (ECR) passport holders that have travelled to any of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations for taking up jobs there in the past three years;

(b) whether there has been a decrease in the number of ECR passport holders travelling to the Gulf Cooperation Council nations since the introduction of the e-migrate website in 2015; and

(e) if so, the details therefor?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a) A statement showing the State-wise number of ECR passport holder emigrants granted emigration clearance for overseas employment in the six GCC countries during the past three years isannexed.PDF

(b) & (c) Yes, as per the data captured in e-Migrate system, the number of emigration clearances granted to Indian Emigration Check Required (ECR) passport holding workers going to Gulf countries for employment has come down compared to the corresponding numbers in the year 2015.

However, a large number of Indian nationals holding ECR passports reportedly travel to the Gulf countries on tourist visa and get their visas converted to employment visa, thereby bypassing the e-Migrate system. These numbers as well as the number of Non ECR passport holders going to the ECR countries for employment are not reflected in the e-Migrate emigration clearance data. As per the information received from the Indian Missions in these countries, the number of Indian workers in the Gulf countries has gone up in the year 2017 compared to the corresponding numbers in 2015 except Kuwait, where the number has come down. A comparative statement showing the number of Indian workers in the Gulf countries in the years 2015 and 2017 is given below:

Name of Countries

Number of Indian workers in Gulf

2015

2017

Kuwait

70765

38871

Bahrain

210081

227239

KSA

293000

305000

Qatar

650000

691539

UAE

206000

303000

Oman

669882

688226

*****

Write a Comment Write a Comment
Comments

Post A Comment

  • Name *
    E-mail *
  • Write Your Comment *
  • Verification Code * Verification Code