The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has notified 3,281 illegal travel agents from across the country till February 2025 on the eMigrate portal of the Government of India. The figures were revealed by the ministry in Lok Sabha on April 4 in response to a question by Sirsa MP and AICC general secretary Kumari Selja. Selja expressed surprise over the ministry’s response and said it appeared that the MEA “does not have accurate data on illegal travel agents.” In a statement issued on Monday, she said: “In India, in 2020, there were more than 2,50,000 small-sized travel agents. The Indian travel agent market size in 2020 was approximately 38 billion USD, which is estimated to exceed 67 billion USD by 2027. Instead of a decrease, the number of illegal travel agents has increased since 2020. The data provided by the Ministry [3,281 illegal travel agents] could be found only in Punjab alone.” In her statement to the media, Selja said that if the central and state governments had taken strict action against illegal travel agents, millions of families could have been saved from devastation. “Youth used to sell their homes, land, and shops to go abroad via the ‘dunki’ route, only to end up without jobs and forced to work as bonded labourers, where they faced physical, mental, and financial exploitation,” she stated. “There is a rampant presence of illegal travel agents, including those in Haryana, who have been notified on the eMigrate portal. On the other hand, the youth, who are desperately searching for employment and dreaming of going abroad, are falling victim to these illegal agents,” she said in her statement. “The youth are spending Rs 50 lakh each on average and heading abroad via the ‘Dunki route’ in search of jobs, only to be deported like criminals with handcuffs. This is the most shameful situation for the country. The government should collect accurate data on this issue and take strict action against illegal agents,” she added. The MEA, in its response, also cited various steps taken to prevent illegal migration. “The Ministry has conducted awareness campaigns on safe and legal migration through workshops, training sessions, informational meetings, media groups, police officers, law enforcement agencies, local administrations, aspiring recruitment agents, entrepreneurs, and the general public across the country, including Haryana,” it said in response to her questions. “The Ministry regularly coordinates with state governments, including Haryana, on issues related to illegal agencies and the enforcement of migration regulations. The foreign contact program is organized from time to time with the cooperation of state governments. The Ministry regularly conducts outreach programs to educate various stakeholders about the benefits of safe and legal migration and suggests ways to prevent illegal migration through fake/unregistered recruitment agencies,” it added. In addition to sharing regular information about unregistered recruitment agencies, regular meetings are held with state-level nodal officers. The ministry also organises regular workshops and training sessions, it said.
