MEA proposes Overseas Mobility Bill for comprehensive emigration management
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday proposed to introduce the Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2025, in the Parliament, aiming to ensure comprehensive emigration management, establish regulatory mechanisms for safe and orderly migration, and govern overseas employment of Indian nationals.
The proposed bill establishes a framework that creates policies and schemes for incentivising policy actions for the protection and promotion of the welfare of emigrants. The bill will replace the existing Emigration Act 1983
According to the MEA, the proposed bill seeks to establish an Overseas Mobility and Welfare Council to promote greater convergence between Ministries with respect to policy management.
“The Bill seeks to strike a balance between promoting opportunities abroad and establishing a regulatory framework for the protection and welfare of vulnerable categories. The Bill creates a mechanism to oversee administration and implementation of international agreements on migration and mobility. It creates robust data driven policy management based on labour studies and coordinated actions with different ministries and departments,” the MEA stated.
Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs in its fourth report to Lok Sabha stated that the MEA was “seriously considering” enacting a new law tentatively titled ‘Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill,’ that will replace the “outdated provisions” of the Emigration Act 1983.
The report also details that the Ministry stated that in recent years, there has been a visible enhancement in India’s standing as a global power with advances in economic, scientific and technological arenas.
“There is a growing interest from across the world in engaging with India. This has resulted in expansion of India’s diplomatic outreach manifesting in India taking the lead in regional groupings, increase in the number of high-level exchanges, bilateral agreements and MOUs signed, growth in economic and developmental cooperation, and initiatives led by India on the international stage such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) etc.” the report mentioned.
The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has built a conducive environment for India’s growth and development through partnerships with friendly countries over the last decade.