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453 Indian students deported in last five years: Know which country topped the list

The government’s breakdown of deportations shows that Indian students were deported from a range of countries over the past half-decade: 114 from Australia, 82 from Russia, 170 from the United Kingdom and 13 from Ukraine.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 7, 2025 09:55 AM IST

Government data shows Indian students were deported from countries like Russia, the UK, and the US over the past five year (Representative Image/AI Generated)

Eighty-two Indian students deported from Russia in the last five years, 45 from the United States, according to data shared by the Ministry of External Affairs in the Parliament on Thursday.

The government’s data shows that Indian students were deported from a range of countries over the past half-decade — 114 from Australia, 82 from Russia, 170 from the United Kingdom, 13 from Ukraine, five from Finland, 17 from Georgia, two from Egypt, one from Austria, and four from China. In addition to deportations, the data indicate that 62 Indian students were denied entry into the United States during this period.

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The numbers may reflect various triggers for deportation or denial, from formal visa-rule violations to broader regulatory or compliance checks in host countries. Although the government’s release does not publicly link each case to specific incidents, the wider geographic spread highlights that Indian students face legal and regulatory risks across many study destinations, even in ones that are often considered as traditional and ‘safer’ choices.

S.No.	Country	Deportations	Entry Denials
1	Australia	114	0
2	China	4	0
3	Egypt	2	0
4	Finland	5	0
5	Kyrgyzstan	0	11
6	Russia	82	0
7	Austria	1	0
8	Georgia	17	0
9	Ukraine	13	0
10	United Kingdom	170	0
11	United States of America	45	62

Express InfoGenIE

These developments come amid a broader backdrop of increasingly restrictive immigration and student-visa policies in major English-speaking destinations. As earlier reported by indianexpress.com, 2025 has witnessed sweeping changes in Australia, the base student visa application fee (Subclass 500) was raised from AUD 1,600 to AUD 2,000 effective July 1, 2025, making it one of the costliest among global study destinations.

The tightened rules further include new visa-processing guidelines introduced under Ministerial Direction 115 (MD 115) from November 14, 2025 — tiered prioritisation of student-visa approvals, stricter oversight of “packaged courses”, and more scrutiny of visa misuse.

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Meanwhile, in United Kingdom, the 2025–26 academic-year reforms raised the maintenance-fund requirements for international students: applicants must now show £1,529 per month for living in London and £1,171 per month elsewhere (up from £1,483 and £1,136, respectively).

At the same time, the government has announced more stringent English-language requirements for skilled-visa applicants, requiring a B2-level (A-level/Class 12 equivalent) test from January 2026. The post-study work visa (Graduate Route) period is also slated to be shortened, reducing the time graduates can remain to find work.

In the United States, growing restrictions on students and skilled-work visa pathways have pushed many aspiring migrants to explore alternatives, demand among Indians for the investment-based residency visa route (often seen as a substitute for student-to-work transitions) has surged since 2024.