NEW DELHI: The number of Indians living in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has crossed nine million, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told Parliament on Friday.
Indians are employed across a wide range of professions, from highly skilled jobs such as fintech, healthcare, information technology, engineering and banking to blue-collar jobs such as cleaners, maids, electricians and plumbers, the minister said.
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Among the GCC countries, the most popular destination for Indian job seekers is the UAE, which is home to 3.55 million Indians, followed by Saudi Arabia, which is home to 2.64 million Indians, Singh said in response to a question from the Lok Sabha.
There are a million Indians in Kuwait, but only six figures in other GCC countries.
By June 30 this year, India had issued immigration permits to 180,000 of its citizens to take up employment in countries that require immigration permits under Indian rules.
This semi-annual figure is roughly the same as the 398,000 immigration permits issued in the entire 2023 calendar year.
Indians with an education level below 10th grade need immigration permission from the government. Certain professions, such as nursing, also require such permission to take up work abroad.