RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-554
ANSWERED ON- 07/12/2023
MIGRATION FROM INDIA
554. SHRI BINOY VISWAM
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) Whether the Ministry maintains data on illegal immigration from India, If so, the country-wise and year-wise data since 2019;
(b) Whether other Governments have notified Government of India about the presence or entry of illegal Indian migrants in their country, like the UK Home Office recently, the details thereof; and
(c) Whether Government has made any efforts to curb illegal migration to other countries or to bring back illegal migrants?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)
(a & b) The Government of India encourages only legal form of mobility and migration from India. The Ministry of External Affairs maintains data of migrant workers who migrate to 18 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries through e-Migrate portal. Many foreign countries do not provide information on illegal stay in their countries, except when they are under orders of deportation and travel document/nationality verification is required. The procedure followed for deportation of foreign nationals also varies from country to country. Some countries do not arrest the deportee and keep them in detention/deportation centers instead until deportation. Moreover, the information about arrest/detention and deportation is not shared with Indian Missions/Posts and the deportation is done directly by the host Government if the deportee has valid travel document. Our Missions/Posts are contacted by the host Governments only in such cases where the nationality verification and issuance of Emergency Certificate (EC) to the deportee is required.
(c) The Government accords highest priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indian nationals abroad. Ministry has been making constant efforts to educate migrant workers about the perils of illegal channels. Following the implementation of the eMigrate system in 2015, ECR emigrants are recommended to seek overseas employment exclusively through legal channels, such as the eMigrate portal. Indian Missions abroad also play a crucial role in proactively sensitising Indian job seekers through issuing Advisories and Press Releases about ramifications of fake job offers by fraudulent and illegal channels.
This Ministry has also launched the 'Surakshit Jaaye Prasikshit Jaaye - Go Safe, Go Trained' campaign in 2018 to raise awareness and facilitate safe and legal migration. This motto has been publicized through awareness generation workshops and Pre-Departure Orientation & Training (PDOT) imparted to the prospective migrants since its launch in March 2017. The program is presently being popularized through 30 centers spread across the country. The goal is that well-informed migrant workers are able to seamlessly integrate and have a safe and productive stay abroad. Further, to underline the importance of safe, legal, orderly and skilled migration, a commemorative postal stamp on ‘Surakshit Jayein, Prasikshit Jayein’ was released by the Prime Minister of India on 09.01.2023 during the PBD 2023.
The Ministry holds regular outreach events with State Governments and other stakeholders to strengthen mechanisms to curb the activities of illegal recruitment agents and to create awareness on safe and legal migration.
The Government has concluded Migration & Mobility Partnership Agreements (MMPAs) and Labour Mobility Agreements (LMAs) with several countries, Cooperation to stop illegal migration and procedures for return of illegal migrants are important part of these agreements. Process and procedures for confirmation of identities of illegal migrants and their subsequent removals have been included in the MMPAs/ LMAs signed with Austria, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Mauritius and UK.
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