246 Bangladeshis among 821 foreigners deported from India in 2021

Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs) in India has deported a total of 821 foreigners, including 246 Bangladeshis, in 2021, according to the annual report of the country's Ministry of Home Affairs.

The report, released on Monday (7 November), noted that most of the deported foreigners belonged to Nigeria (339) followed by Bangladesh and Afghanistan, Business Insider reported.  

A total of 15,24,469 foreigners visited India from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021.

The maximum number of foreigners who visited India during this period were from the United States of America (4,29,860) followed by those from Bangladesh (2,40,554), the United Kingdom (1,64,143), Canada (80,437), Nepal (52,544), Afghanistan (36,451), Australia (33,864), Germany (33,772), Portugal (32,064) and France (30,374). These 10 countries accounted for 74.39 per cent of the total arrival of foreigners from January to December 2021 while the rest of the countries accounted for 25.61 per cent of the total incoming traffic of foreigners.

Moreover, Pakistan nationals above 65 years of age who crossed the Attari Immigration Check Post on foot were also granted 'Visa-on-Arrival' ('VoA') for a 45-day stay with single entry subject to certain conditions.

From 1 April 2021 to 31 December 2021, a total of 2,439 Long Term Visas (LTV) have been granted by MHA for minority communities from three neighbouring countries. This includes Pakistan (2193), Afghanistan (237) and Bangladesh (9).

During the same period, 08 Pakistcivil prisoners and 15 Pakistani fishermen, who had completed their sentences, were repatriated to Pakistan. And eight Indian civil prisoners and 20 Indian fishermen have been repatriated to India.