New Delhi: The highest number of foreign nationals deported from India between April 2023 and March 2024 were from Nigeria, according to the annual report 2023-2024 by the Ministry of Home Affairs, released earlier this week.
According to the ministry data, a total of 2,331 foreigners were deported during that period. Of these, 1,470 were from Nigeria, followed by 411 from Bangladesh and 78 from Uganda.
Deportation takes place when an individual enters the country without a valid visa and documentation or stays back after the expiry of visa.
The home ministry is responsible for matters pertaining to immigration, visa, foreign contribution and citizenship. However, the entry, stay, movement within the country and the exit of foreigners are regulated by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) and the police authorities of state governments and Union Territories.
The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 regulate the entry, stay and exit of foreign nationals in India.
While the Indian visa of all categories can be granted in physical or sticker form by Indian Missions and Posts located abroad, the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) currently grants electronic visas under seven categories to foreigners of 167 countries.
Immigration authorities grant visa-on-arrival at six designated airports across India to nationals of three countries—Japan, South Korea & United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the data in the report, a total of 98, 40,321 foreigners visited India between April 2023 and March 2024.
During this period, the most number of foreign nationals that visited India were from Bangladesh at 21 lakh, followed by the US at 17 lakh, and the United Kingdom at 9 lakh. This was followed by Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Germany, Nepal and Singapore.
The ministry has said that these 10 countries accounted for 70.27 percent of the total arrivals of foreigners during this period.
The annual report also mentions that from 1 April, 2023 to 31 March, 2024, 1,112 cases of Long-Term Visa (LTV) were granted by the home ministry for minority communities from Pakistan.