VisaChiefIndia migration: diaspora, destinations & visa routes
How many people leave India, where they go and on which visa categories - a cited snapshot for 2025-26, drawn from official statistics and international migration data. Prefer it visual? Explore India on the interactive migration map.
Outbound corridors · India
India - where they emigrate
The world's largest diaspora and the single biggest source of skilled migrants on earth. ~18.5M India-born live abroad (35M+ counting people of Indian origin), fed by two engines: fee-rich skilled/study migration to the Anglosphere and mass temporary labour to the Gulf, together generating a record US$129B in remittances.
Start your application ›18.5M
India-born living abroad
world's largest diaspora, 2024
35.4M
overseas Indians (NRI + PIO)
incl. people of Indian origin
$129B
remittances received / yr
#1 recipient worldwide, 2024
#1 UAE
3.5M India-born
largest single destination
71%
of all US H-1B approvals
283k of 399k, FY2024
9M+
Indians in the GCC
mostly temporary labour
Where they live
Diaspora stock by country (latest census / official)
3.5M
3.2M
2.45M
1.0M
1.0M
920k
916k
780k
Where they go each year
Estimated annual long-term moves (people / yr)
~350k
173k
140k
75k
65k
30k
The trend
UAEUnited StatesSaudi ArabiaAustralia
India-born residents (000s)
Source: UN DESA 2020/2024, US ACS/MPI, AU ABS (endpoints authoritative; intermediate years interpolated)
Corridor facts
TWO DIASPORASThe Gulf holds 9M+ Indians on temporary labour permits (no PR path), while the Anglosphere pulls skilled families and students on settlement tracks. One remits, the other settles.
H-1B IS INDIANIndians took 71% of all US H-1B approvals in FY2024 (283k of 399k) and are the #1 source of US international students at 363k in 2024-25.
CANADA TURNEDIndia supplied ~45% of Canada's study-and-work permits and the largest share of new PRs, before 2024-25 study-permit caps sharply cut intake.
AUSTRALIA FLIPPEDIndia-born (916k, Jun 2024; 971k by 2025) overtook England as Australia's largest migrant group for the first time on record.
REMITTANCE KINGIndia received US$129B in 2024, the world's #1 recipient by far - nearly double 2nd-place Mexico ($68B); the Gulf and the US are the biggest source pools.
What visa categories they use
Share of the annual flow, by destination
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Skilled / workFamily / partnerStudyHumanitarian / other
Corridor economics - volume, categories, cost, time
| Corridor | Volume | Primary / secondary categories | Govt cost | Time | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | ~65k LPR + ~280k H-1B + ~360k F-1 | H-1B specialty worker (India = 71% of approvals); EB-2/EB-3 green cards F-1 students ~363k (2024-25, #1 source); L-1; H-4 | $2-10k govt + $3-10k attorney | H-1B lottery + 1-5+ yr green-card backlog | Apply › |
| Canada | ~140k PR + large study/work | Express Entry / PNP permanent residence Study permits + PGWP (India = ~40-45% of intake) | CAD 2,340 + consultant 3-6k | 6-14 months | Apply › |
| United Kingdom | ~173k work + study visas | Student visa ~95k; Skilled Worker ~28k Health & Care Worker ~30k; Graduate route | £769-1,639 + IHS £1,035/yr | 3-8 weeks | Apply › |
| Australia | ~75k/yr | Skilled 189/190/491 + Employer 482/186 Student subclass 500 (large); family | AUD 4,910 skilled + agent 3-8k | 6-18 months | Apply › |
| UAE | ~150k/yr (largest labour flow) | Employment residence permits (no PR path) Golden Visa (talent/investor/property) growing | AED 3-8k, mostly employer-paid | 2-6 weeks | Apply › |
| Saudi Arabia | ~100k/yr (labour, declining) | Employment visa + Iqama (kafala) Domestic & construction labour | SAR 2-7k, employer-paid | 2-6 weeks | Check options › |
Key insightIndia is the world's most important migration source in both directions of the market: mass, employer-paid Gulf labour that generates remittances, and a fee-rich skilled/study pipeline to the US, Canada, UK and Australia where per-move service fees run US$3k-15k across millions of applicants.
Inbound corridors · India
India - who is arriving
India hosts ~4.9M foreign-born (just 0.4% of its population) - overwhelmingly regional and informal: partition-legacy and cross-border migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, plus ~240k UNHCR-registered refugees. Inbound is an order of magnitude smaller than outbound and generates almost no formal visa fees.
Start your application ›4.9M
foreign-born in India
0.4% of population, 2020
#1 BD
2.49M from Bangladesh
3rd-largest corridor on earth
Open border
Nepal free movement
no visa under 1950 Treaty
240k
refugees & asylum-seekers
mostly Myanmar & Afghanistan
Where they come from
Foreign-born stock by origin (latest official)
2.49M
833k
734k
185k
108k
~50k
~30k
Who arrives each year
Estimated annual long-term moves (people / yr)
~60k
~40k
~15k
~8k
~6k
Corridor facts
3RD-BIGGEST CORRIDORBangladesh-to-India (~2.5M) is the world's 3rd-largest migration corridor after Mexico-US and Russia-Ukraine, per the World Bank - yet almost entirely irregular.
NEPAL WALKS INUnder the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Nepalis need no visa or work permit in India; the flow is circular labour and impossible to fee-gate.
NO CONVENTIONIndia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention; it hosts ~240k UNHCR-registered refugees (mostly Myanmar and Afghanistan) via ad-hoc Long-Term Visas.
PARTITION LEGACYMost of the 833k Pakistan-born and a large share of the Bangladesh-born stock reflect 1947/1971 partition-era movement, not current migration.
TINY FORMAL INFLOWAt 0.4% foreign-born, India is one of the world's least immigrant-dense large economies; formal work/study visas to India are a rounding error next to its outflow.
What visa categories they use
Share of the annual flow, by destination
Bangladesh
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Afghanistan
United States
Skilled / workFamily / partnerStudyHumanitarian / other
Corridor economics - volume, categories, cost, time
| Corridor | Volume | Primary / secondary categories | Govt cost | Time | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | ~40k/yr (mostly irregular) | No formal migration channel; irregular entry Some family / medical visas | Negligible formal fees | n/a | Check options › |
| Nepal | ~60k/yr circular | Visa-free entry (1950 Treaty) Informal labour, no permit needed | $0 (visa-free) | n/a | Check options › |
| Sri Lanka | Refugee stock ~90k in camps | Long-Term Visa (LTV) for Tamil refugees Student / tourist visas | Low | months | Check options › |
| China (Tibet) | Tibetan refugee stock ~70-90k | Registration Certificate / LTV (Tibetans) n/a | Low | n/a | Check options › |
| United States | ~6k/yr | Employment Visa (E-visa); Business Visa Student / research visas | $100-500 + processing | weeks | Check options › |
Key insightIndia's inbound is regional, informal and largely fee-free - a humanitarian and neighbourhood story - whereas its outbound is a global, fee-rich market; the two are not remotely symmetrical.
Frequently asked
How many people from India live abroad?
18.5M - India-born living abroad. Source: UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024.
Where do most people migrate from India?
The top destinations are Gulf (GCC) labour, United Kingdom, Canada.
What visas do India migrants use for the United States corridor?
H-1B specialty worker (India = 71% of approvals); EB-2/EB-3 green cards.
Key India migration corridors
Each corridor has its own key-facts page with volume, visa-category mix and the visa routes that apply.
See it on the map
Compare India against every other major source and destination country, trace the flow arcs and switch between inbound and outbound on the interactive world map.
Open the interactive migration mapFigures on this page are indicative planning estimates for 2025-26,
compiled from public aggregates (UN DESA, OECD and destination-country statistical releases); they are not
official counts. General information only, not immigration advice.