The data on the number of Indian students who have been deported during the last 5 years has been made public in the parliament. The highest number of Indian students deported was from the United Kingdom, with a total of 170 students deported. The number of Indian students deported from Australia, Russia, and the United States of America was 114, 82, and 45, respectively. The data is as of January 1, 2025.
In the last five years, only 2 countries denied entry to Indian students. The United States of America denied entry to 62, while Kyrgyzstan did not provide study visas to 11 students.
The number of Indian students who went abroad for studies was 7,50,365 in 2022, 8,94,783 in 2023, and 7,60,073 in 2024.
Questions Raised
Queries for the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs on the issues faced by Indian students abroad were raised in the recently concluded Lok Sabha session.
One of the questions was to tell the parliament about Indian students deported or denied entry by foreign immigration authorities during the last five years. Also, it was asked to state the major reasons cited for such deportations, including cases linked to fraudulent or unaccredited foreign educational programmes.
Here’s the minister’s reply:
The major reasons cited for deportations primarily relate to violations of visa norms and noncompliance with the regulations of host countries by Indian students.
Common grounds for deportation include breach of student visa conditions, such as undertaking employment that is not permitted under student visa rules, illegal business activities, or violations of internal regulations of the host country, such as acts inciting ethnic hatred, conflict, separatism, or disseminating prohibited information.
Students have also faced deportation by foreign Governments for failing to maintain the requisite financial bank balance in countries where they had been studying, for not paying university fees or for being unable to demonstrate adequate financial capacity to support their stay and studies, for having insufficient attendance in classes or for complete withdrawal from the registered academic programmes or universities, etc.
In several cases, entry of Indian students had been denied by foreign immigration authorities on account of their carrying incomplete or inappropriate admission documents of their Universities, failing to complete the administrative procedures required for enrolment in the Universities, or for being unable to answer basic questions about their chosen field of study in foreign academic institutions.
