Nearly one lakh Tamils migrated abroad for jobs in five years
According to the reply furnished by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Union government has issued 16,06,964 ECs between January 2020 and June 2025
Representative Image (Reuters)
CHENNAI: The Union government has issued emigration clearance (EC) to nearly one lakh people from Tamil Nadu, who travelled abroad for employment in the last five years.
According to the reply furnished by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Union government has issued 16,06,964 ECs between January 2020 and June 2025. These clearances are issued through the e-Migrant portal to monitor outbound labour migration to 18 notified Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries.
The Minister said that the initiative is also intended to provide necessary assistance during times of distress, including addressing employment-related grievances in host countries. In a written reply to a question raised by an MP from Telangana, he further noted that, as an additional safeguard for the protection and safety of female domestic workers, the government has authorised only State-run recruitment agencies to facilitate the overseas placement of Indian women holding ECR-category passports for employment in Gulf nations and other notified ECR countries.
He added that a minimum age criterion of 30 years has been prescribed for female workers in this category to protect them from exploitation.
Going by the numbers, Tamil Nadu accounted for 96,619 ECs during the period. Following the lifting of the second COVID-19 lockdown and the easing of travel restrictions, there was a significant increase in the number of youths travelling abroad for employment.
A total of 28,819 obtained ECs in 2022, which declined to 24,441 in 2023, and went up to 26,050 in 2024. In the current year, as many as 15,003 had obtained ECs and travelled out of the country from Tamil Nadu.
Natives of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar lead in seeking overseas employment, with 5.59 lakh and 2.84 lakh individuals, respectively.
Over 5.49 lakh overseas job aspirants from UP travelled from January 2020 to date. More than 1.23 lakh travelling from the State since 2022. A significant number of job aspirants from Bihar, West Bengal, and Rajasthan also secured ECs and travelled to foreign countries in search of employment.
OUTBOUND
UP - 5.49 lakh
Bihar - 2.84 lakh
WB - 1.24 lakh
Rajasthan - 1.11 lakh
TN - 96,619
Total - 16.09 lakh
(Jan 2020 - June 2025)
