The Evolving Patterns of South Asian Migration to the Gulf States

• Commentary Asia · Middle East and North Africa · Migrations
  by Sirudaya Rajan

The South Asian-Gulf migration corridor has emerged as one of the most vibrant migratory pathways in the world. While this historical trend remains strong, recent decades have witnessed a significant diversification in migration flows from South Asia: students and skilled workers have been increasingly moving towards Europe, North America, and other advanced economies shifting away from the traditional pattern of low-skilled labour migration to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Additionally, migration patterns are also characterized by significant regional movements within South Asia. Beyond these patterns, understanding South Asian migration requires a multidimensional approach that examines critical issues such as the causes and consequences of migration, vulnerabilities in recruitment processes, gender dynamics and experiences, and the challenges of migrants' return and reintegration.

Migration from South Asia is driven by various factors such as unemployment, underemployment, low per capita income, debt accumulation, and other financial pressures. Distress migration and climate change also play significant roles in migration corridors within South Asia, such as the ones from Bangladesh to India and from Afghanistan to Pakistan.

The political and economic conditions of the destination countries further shape the direction and composition of migration flows. For instance, factors such as oil prices, economic growth, and labour demand in the GCC countries have made the region a preferred destination for South Asian migrants. However, in recent times, nationalization policies and stricter implementation of immigration regulations have drastically affected the recruitment process in the region.

Working Conditions and Remittances

South Asian migrants in the Gulf are primarily employed in low to semi-skilled jobs in sectors such as construction, manufacturing, fishing, domestic services and as drivers. (Rajan 2017). While migrant labourers contribute substantially to Gulf economies' growth, comprehensive data on their specific contributions is lacking. There is a huge economic surplus generated by the migrants in Gulf, coupled with very low wage rates, enabling Gulf nationals to maintain luxurious lifestyles and make substantial real estate investments both within and beyond the Gulf region.

However, new trends and patterns of migration have emerged over the past few decades. For example, women are becoming increasingly more present in the South Asian migratory movement to the Gulf region: nearly half of the female migrants in GCC countries originate from South Asia. Sri Lanka has had the most "feminised" labour migration, with an overwhelming majority from low-income households, while India and Nepal also see consistent flows of female migrants, who are generally employed for domestic work and cleaning services.

The recruitment industry remains plagued by a number of issues, often leading to the exploitation of these migrants. Among these challenges, proliferation of illegal recruitment agencies and visa trading are common concerns that various governments are trying to address.

In contrast, recent migration trends to Europe and North America have seen an increased share of high-skilled workers and students. Countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have a significant number of student migrants, with India ranking second globally after China. The number of South Asian emigrants to Australia and New Zealand increased twofold in the last three decades. During the same period, South Asian migration to Europe and North America rose from 2.08 million to 8.98 million people. Young migrants are increasingly choosing Europe and North America over Gulf countries, where benefits like permanent residency or citizenship are not guaranteed or limited. According to the Kerala Migration Survey 2023, the number of emigrants choosing GCC countries has dropped from 89.2% in 2018 to 80.5% in 2023. Simultaneously, the report shows an increase in the number of emigrants preferring non-GCC destination countries in 2023.

The prominence of migration as a policy concern for various countries is closely tied to its economic conditions and employment issues. The contribution of migrant labourers to the economic growth of the Gulf countries cannot be understated, with South Asian migrant labour having a significant impact on the labour composition and human capital development of the GCC. Similarly, remittances (transfer of money sent form migrant workers for household income in their origin country) have played a crucial role in the economies of the origin countries. Indeed, South Asia is the largest recipient of remittances for a sub-region in the world, with the majority directed towards India, which stands as the world's top recipient. Remittances in South Asian countries contribute to the mitigation of poverty and unemployment and also impact the balance of payments, foreign exchange reserves, and the overall GDP in the developing South Asian countries (Rajan, 2017). These economic transfers could also result in countercyclical effects, providing resilience and more stable capital inflows during economic shocks and crises. For example, according to the World Bank estimates, remittances to South Asia increased by 5.2% in 2020, despite the pandemic. These trends could be caused by the returning migrants liquidating their savings and the diasporic community supporting their families back home to shoulder medical expenses or to compensate for a decrease in local household revenue. At the same time, however, the World Bank, notes that in the post-pandemic years remittance flows were severely disrupted as evidenced by various panel and household surveys conducted in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. These surveys revealed a sharp decline in remittance-receiving households during this period which could be attributed to the observed significant return migration.

Return and reintegration

Return migration is an inevitable phase in the journey of temporary migrants. Returning to the origin country due to exogenous shocks calls into question the voluntary nature of such return, the ability of returnees to reintegrate, and the sustainability of re-embedding migrants in their home countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the return of several migrants who had to face dwindled economic opportunities back home. Loss of income, wage theft, and lack of resources for remigration are some of the issues faced by returnees. Additionally, a lack of awareness about the existing support schemes and legal framework exacerbates vulnerabilities of this group. The survey conducted on return migrants in Kerala, the southern part of India, indicated that 92% were unaware of national schemes like the SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) which is aimed at the reintegration of migrant workers into the local labour market. Among those aware, 90% had not registered for it. The survey also reported that 59% of the returning emigrants wanted to re-emigrate. Since migration and remittances can contribute to sustainable development if holistic policies are in place, attention should be given to the proper reintegration and remigration of the returnees.

References

Chowdhury, M., & Rajan, S. I. (2023). Introduction. In M. Chowdhury & S. I. Rajan (Eds.), South Asian Migration in the Gulf: Causes and Consequences (pp. 1-6). New Delhi: Palgrave Macmillan.

Migration Data Portal, IOM, 2023 https://www.migrationdataportal.org/

Rajan, S. I. (2017). South Asia-Gulf migration corridor: An introduction. In S. I. Rajan (Ed.), South Asia Migration Report 2017: Recruitment, remittances and reintegration (pp. 19-36). New Delhi: Routledge.

Rajan, S. I. (2020). Introduction: migration statistics in South Asia - the need for a fresh approach. In S. I. Rajan (Ed.), South Asia Migration Report 2020: Exploitation, Entrepreneurship and Engagement (pp. 1-23). New York: Routledge.

Rajan, S. I. (2024). Kerala Migration Survey 2023. International Institute of Migration and Development.https://iimad.org/

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Rajan, S. I., & Arcand, J.-L. (2023). COVID-19 return migration phenomena: experiences from South and Southeast Asia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 50(20), 5133-5152. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2024.2268963

Rajan, S. I., & Pattath, B. (2021). Kerala Return Emigrant Survey 2021: What Next for Return Migrants of Kerala? Working Paper No. 504. Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Rajan, S. I., & Pattath, B. (2022). Distress return migration amid COVID-19: Kerala's response. Journal of Population Research, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/01171968221115259

Rajan, S. I., and H. Arokkiaraj. 2022. "Return Migration from the Gulf Region to India Amidst COVID-19." In Migration and Pandemics, edited by A. Triandafyllidou, 207-225. Cham: Springer.

United Nations. 2020. International Migration Stock. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. United Nations. New York.

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