Parliament Question: Action against illegal recruiting agents

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 728 ANSWERED ON 05/02/2026 ACTION AGAINST ILLEGAL RECRUITING AGENTS

728. SHRI RAJINDER GUPTA

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that the Emigration Act, 1983 has not undergone any comprehensive amendment since its enactment, despite repeated recommendations and if so, the reasons therefor;

(b) the number of illegal or unregistered recruiting agents identified, investigated and prosecuted during the last five years, year-wise and State/UT-wise;

(c) the number of cases resulting in penalties and convictions and the details of penalties collected;

(d) the number of migrant workers identified as victims of illegal recruitment and assistance provided, State/UT-wise; and

(e) the measures proposed to curb illegal recruiting agents, including any proposed amendment to the Emigration Act? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) The Emigration Act, 1983 has not been amended since its enactment. However, the Emigration Rules framed under the Act have been amended in 2009, 2017, 2020 and 2023. (b to e) Ministry comes to know about such fraudulent activities of illegal/unscrupulous recruitment agents/agencies in the country as and when a complaint is filed by aggrieved emigrants or their relatives/friends/family members, who have been cheated, as these Indian nationals proceed abroad on their own volition through fraudulent/unscrupulous recruitment agents/agencies and through illegal channels.

Government accords utmost priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indian nationals proceeding for employment abroad. As per The Emigration Act 1983, no person/agency can function as Recruiting Agent (RA) without a valid license issued by the Registering Authority i.e. Protector General of Emigrants. Mandatory registration of RAs is aimed to reduce fraud and exploitation of prospective Indian emigrants proceeding for employment abroad. Recruitment for ECR category passport holder to ECR countries is done through eMigrate portal through registered Recruiting Agents. All female ECR category workers (except nurses) emigrating on ECR passports to ECR countries irrespective of nature/category of employment must be above the age of 30 years. The Foreign Employer is required to deposit a Bank Guarantee equivalent to USD 2500 for recruiting each female worker, in the respective Indian Mission.

1As and when complaints against the illegal agents/dubious firms luring Indian youth in false recruitment offers through various channels are received, such matters are referred to the State police for investigation and prosecution under the relevant legal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

(BNS) and other legislation in place including the ones enacted by some State Governments. The Government blacklists and suspends registered Recruiting Agents (RAs) who violate migration rules, overcharge, or cheat, often following complaints. The status and follow up action in this regard for the last five years is given at Annexure A.

Ministry also issues advisories through eMigrate portal, social media handles and other modes of publicity about the perils of fake job rackets and ways to prevent the same. Till December 2025, a total of 3,505 unregistered agents in country have been notified on the eMigrate portal. Awareness campaign on safe and legal migration through eMigrate portal is carried out by the Ministry across the country from time to time by conducting workshops, trainings, information sessions, digital campaigns for media groups, police officials and law enforcement agencies, local administration, aspiring recruiting agents, entrepreneurs and general public. During these sessions, awareness on emigration regulations, schemes beneficial for emigrants like Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana

(PBBY), Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT), eMigrate portal and various advisories issued by Indian Embassies are brought to the notice of all stakeholders including job seekers, and they are advised to verify all antecedents of Recruiting Agents before accepting any kind of employment offer and not be enticed and entrapped in the fraudulent job offers. Videsh Sampark Programmes are also organized periodically in collaboration with state governments for awareness generation.

The Government has taken several measures for safety, protection and well-being of all Indian nationals abroad, with various mechanisms in place to address such issues. It has established such mechanisms to enable Indian nationals abroad to reach out to the Indian Missions in case they need any assistance. Indian nationals can contact the Missions/Posts through various channels like walk-in, email, social media, multilingual 24x7 emergency numbers and also grievance redressal portals like MADAD, CPGRAMS, eMigrate etc. In addition, Indian Missions/Posts abroad have established toll- free helplines, Whatsapp numbers and have launched mobile apps to enable Indian nationals contact concerned Indian Missions/Posts when in distress or in emergency situation.

Moreover, Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSK) have been set up in New Delhi, Dubai

(UAE), Riyadh and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Kshetriya Pravasi Sahayata Kendras (KPSKs) in Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Patna and Chandigarh to provide assistance, guidance and counseling to Indian nationals in distress.

2Annexure- A Data regarding complaints about illegal migration and follow up action [2021 – 2025] Sl. State/UT Number of Complaints ATR Submitted by State Police Number of Cases in which request Number of Prosecution No. for issue of prosecution sanction Sanctions issued after investigation received 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 202 202 202 202 202 1 2 3 4 5 Andaman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1. and Nicobar Islands Andhra 1111 688 445 602 448 0 0 5 11 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

2.

Pradesh Arunachal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3.

Pradesh

4. Assam 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 2 6 5 1 4 (FIR 0 1(FIR 1(FIR 1(FIR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5. Bihar register registe register register ed red) ed) ed) 0 0 3 9 80 0 0 0 0 34 (3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6. Chandigarh FIRs)

7. Chhattisgarh 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8. Dadra & 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nagar Haveli and Daman & 3Diu 1 1 4 92 153 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 11 09* 0 0 0 11 09*

9. Delhi ATR 17 FIR

10. Goa 3 14 5 1 13 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

11. Gujarat 2 2 2 9 12 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 2 26 + 7 0 0 0 0 09 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 ATR

12. Haryana 0 FIR + 5 (1 FIR) Himachal 0 3 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

13.

Pradesh Jammu & 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

14.

Kashmir

15. Jharkhand 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 21 32 33 61 0 4 6 8 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 (upto

16. Karnataka Oct.

2025) 65 69 110 277 238 54 47 87 197(FI 158 2 7 7 1 0 2 7 7 1 15 (FIRs (FIRs (FIRs Rs

17. Kerala Registe Registe Regist Registe red) red) ered) red) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

18. Ladakh 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lakshadwee

19. p Madhya 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

20.

Pradesh

21. Maharashtra 22 8 6 14 22 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

22. Manipur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

23. Meghalaya 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 1 0 3 FIR 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

24. Mizoram Registe red

25. Nagaland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 0 0 0 2 (FIR 1 (FIR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

26. Odisha Registe Registe red) red)

27. Puducherry 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 23 56 18 80 0 0 0 38(FIR 69 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

28. Punjab Registe red) 91 64 35 87 97 24 (one 2 0 0 4 4 0 2 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 FIR

29. Rajasthan Registe red)

30. Sikkim 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

31. Tamil Nadu 85 254 152 106 99 0 6 7 64 52 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

32. Telangana 74 63 132 96 111 - 19 35 17 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

33. Tripura 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 ATR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

34. Uttarakhand 0 FIR 0 1 0 6 31 0 0 0 0 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Uttar

35. ATR Pradesh 03 FIR

36. West Bengal 74 10 5 10 35 0 1 2 2 12 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 Total 1,553 1,227 1,006 1378 1541 82 87 147 343 7 11 15 14 7 11 15 14 ***** 6