Lok Sabha Question No. 1217 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Regulation of Fake Immigration Agents
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Putta Mahesh Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1217

ANSWERED ON- 06/02/2026

## REGULATION OF FAKE IMMIGRATION AGENTS

## 1217.     SHRI PUTTA MAHESH KUMAR

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the growing incidents of fake   immigration   agents   and   fraudulent   overseas   job/visa consultants cheating Indian citizens across the country, including Andhra Pradesh, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the total number of complaints received and cases registered against such agents during the last three years, State/UT-wise;
- (c) the steps taken to identify, blacklist and prosecute unauthorised agents,   including   action   taken   under   the   Emigration   Act   in coordination with State Police and other agencies; and
- (d) whether the government has undertaken any steps to strengthen public awareness, grievance redressal and prevention mechanisms for protecting emigrant workers, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a to d)   Government has been made aware of instances where dubious entities involved in fake recruitment job offers have  lured Indian   nationals   including   youth,   mostly   through   social   media channels for overseas employment to various countries.   Ministry comes to know about such fraudulent activities of illegal/unscrupulous recruitment agents in the country as and when a   complaint   is   filed   by   the   aggrieved   emigrants   or   their relatives/friends/family members, who have been cheated by their employers as these Indian nationals proceed abroad on their own volition   through   fraudulent/unscrupulous   recruitment   agents   and through illegal channels.

As per Section 10 of the Emigration Act, 1983, no person/agency can function   as   Recruiting   Agent   (RA)   without   a   valid   Registration Certificate (RC) issued by the Registering Authority, i.e., Protector General   of   Emigrants   (PGE).   As   and   when   complaints   of   illegal migration/human   trafficking   are   received,   including   from   Andhra Pradesh,   such   matters   are   referred   to   the   State   police   for

investigation and prosecution under the relevant legal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other legislations in place. In the cyber domain, action is also taken against illegal recruiting agents   in   association   with   MHA   and   State   Police   authorities. Requests   to   take   down   social   media   posts   of   illegal   recruiting agencies from all over India including Andhra Pradesh have been regularly shared with MHA.

Data regarding the number of complaints about illegal migration received from the States/UTs and action taken during the last three years is given in Annexure-A.

Ministry   issues   advisories   through   eMigrate   portal,   social   media handles, and other modes of publicity about the perils of fake job rackets and ways to prevent the same. Till December 2025, a list of 3,505   unregistered   agents,   against   whom   grievances   have   been received, has been published on the eMigrate portal to caution the prospective emigrants. The awareness campaign on safe and legal migration   through   eMigrate   portal   has   been   carried   out   by   the Ministry   across   the   country   by   conducting   workshops,   trainings, information sessions, digital campaigns for media groups, police

officials   and   law   enforcement   agencies,   local   administration, aspiring recruiting agents, entrepreneurs and general public. During these   sessions   awareness   on   emigration   regulations,   schemes beneficial for emigrants like Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY), Pre-Departure   Orientation   Training   (PDOT),   eMigrate   portal   and various advisories issued by Indian Embassies are brought to the notice of all stakeholders.

Ministry regularly coordinates with the State Governments regarding issues   of   illegal   recruiting   agencies   and   the   ways   to   address challenges   related   to   enforcement   of   emigration   rules   and regulations. Videsh Sampark   Programme   is   organized in collaboration   with   State   Governments   from   time   to   time.   The Ministry regularly organises such outreach programs to sensitise various stakeholders about the benefits of safe and legal migration and   suggests   ways   to   prevent   illegal   migration   through fake/unregistered recruitment agencies. In addition to the regular information   sharing   on   unregistered   recruiting   agencies,   regular meetings   with   the   State   level   Nodal   Officer   are   held.   Further, workshops & training sessions are held by the Ministry for the law enforcement   agencies   of   the   State   Governments   in   which

information   on   the   Standard   Operating   Procedures   (SOP)   of   the Ministry, detection of unlawful content on social media, and case studies of Cyber Scamming is shared with the participants.

## Annexure-A

## Data regarding complaints about illegal migration and follow-up action [2023 - 2025]

| Sl. No.   | State/UT                    |   Number of Complaints |   Number of Complaints |   Number of Complaints |   ATR Submitted/FIR Registered by State/UT Police |   ATR Submitted/FIR Registered by State/UT Police |   ATR Submitted/FIR Registered by State/UT Police |   Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation received |   Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation received |   Number of Cases in which request for issue of prosecution sanction after investigation received |   Number of Prosecution Sanctions issued |   Number of Prosecution Sanctions issued |   Number of Prosecution Sanctions issued |
|-----------|-----------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|           | State/UT                    |                   2023 |                   2024 |                   2025 |                                              2023 |                                              2024 |                                              2025 |                                                                                              2023 |                                                                                              2024 |                                                                                              2025 |                                     2023 |                                     2024 |                                     2025 |
| 1.        | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                      0 |                      0 |                      0 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh              |                    445 |                    602 |                    448 |                                                 5 |                                                11 |                                                19 |                                                                                                 1 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                        1 |                                        0 |                                        0 |
| 3.        | Arunachal Pradesh           |                      0 |                      0 |                      0 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |
| 4.        | Assam                       |                      2 |                      0 |                      0 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |
| 5.        | Bihar                       |                      6 |                      5 |                      1 |                                                 1 |                                                 1 |                                                 1 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |
| 6.        | Chandigarh                  |                      3 |                      9 |                     80 |                                                 0 |                                                 0 |                                                37 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                                                                                 0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |                                        0 |

| 7.                | Chhattisgarh   |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 0 | 0          |
|-------------------|----------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-------|------------|
| 8. Dadra & Haveli | Nagar and 0    |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0          |
| 9. Delhi          | 4              |  92 | 153 |   0 |   0 |  34 |   0 |  11 |  09 |   0 |    11 | 09         |
| 10. Goa           | 5              |   1 |  13 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0          |
| 11. Gujarat       | 2              |   9 |  12 |   1 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 3          |
| 12. Haryana       | 4              |   2 |  33 |   0 |   0 |  15 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |     1 | 0          |
| 13. Pradesh       | 4              |   0 |   2 |   1 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | Himachal 0 |
| 14. & Kashmir     | 1              |   0 |   4 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   1 |     0 | Jammu 0    |
| 15. Jharkhand     | 0              |   0 |   4 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 | 0          |
| 16. Karnataka     | 32             |  33 |  61 |   6 |   8 |   0 |   3 |   0 |   0 |   3 |     0 | 0          |
| 17. Kerala        | 110            | 277 | 238 |  87 | 197 | 158 |   7 |   1 |   0 |   7 |     1 | 15         |

| 18.         | Ladakh         | 0     |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 0 |   0 |
|-------------|----------------|-------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-------|-----|
| 19.         | Lakshadweep    | 0 0   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 20.         | Madhya Pradesh | 0 0   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 21.         | Maharashtra    | 6 14  |  22 |   1 |   1 |   1 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |     1 |   0 |
| 22.         | Manipur        | 0 0   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 23.         | Meghalaya      | 0 0   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 24. Mizoram | 2              | 0     |   4 |   1 |   0 |   3 |   0 |   0 |   1 |   0 |     0 |   1 |
| 25.         | Nagaland       | 0 0   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 26.         | Odisha         | 0 5   |   7 |   0 |   2 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 27.         | Puducherry     | 0 0   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 28.         | Punjab         | 56 18 |  80 |   0 |  38 |  69 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |     0 |   0 |
| 29.         | Rajasthan      | 35 87 |  97 |   0 |   0 |   4 |   2 |   0 |   0 |   2 |     0 |   0 |

| 30.   | Sikkim        | 0     |    0 |    0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
|-------|---------------|-------|------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
| 31.   | Tamil Nadu    | 152   |  106 |   99 |   7 |  64 |  52 |   1 |   0 |   0 |   1 |   0 |   0 |
| 32.   | Telangana     | 132   |   96 |  111 |  35 |  17 |  47 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| 33.   | Tripura       | 0     |    0 |    1 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| 34.   | Uttarakhand   | 0     |    5 |    5 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| 35.   | Uttar Pradesh | 0     |    6 |   31 |   0 |   0 |  11 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
| 36.   | West Bengal   | 5     |   10 |   35 |   2 |   2 |  12 |   0 |   0 |   2 |   0 |   1 |   1 |
| Total | Total         | 1,006 | 1378 | 1541 | 147 | 343 | 465 |  15 |  14 |  12 |  15 |  14 |  29 |

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