Despite the BJP’s allegations that the Opposition supports “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for vote bank” during every election, the largest number of foreigners deported from India between April 2023 and March 2024 was from Nigeria.

The issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants features prominently in BJP campaigns in every election.

According to the latest annual report released by the Union home ministry, 2,331 foreigners were deported during that period. Of these, 1,470 were from Nigeria, followed by 411 from Bangladesh and 78 from Uganda.

The Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs) maintain records of foreigners who enter India with valid documents. Deportation could be for overstaying the visa and flouting visa conditions, among others.

“Usually a foreigner is deported if he/she enters the country without a valid visa and documentation or stays back after the visa expires,” said a home ministry official.

The ministry is responsible for matters pertaining to immigration, visa, foreign contribution and citizenship. However, the entry, stay, movement within the country and exit of foreigners are regulated by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) and the police authorities of the state governments and Union Territories.

According to the ministry’s annual report, 98,40,321 foreigners visited India between April 2023 and March 2024. During this period, the highest number of foreign nationals who visited India was from Bangladesh at 21 lakh, followed by the US at 17 lakh, and the UK at 10 lakh. This was followed by Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Germany, Nepal and Singapore.

“These 10 countries accounted for 70.27% of the total arrival of foreigners during the period 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2024 while the rest of the countries accounted for 29.73% of total incoming traffic of foreigners,” said the report.

It also mentions that from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, a total of 1,112 long-term visas were granted by the ministry for minority communities from Pakistan.