Saudi Arabia deports 56,000 Pakistani beggars; UAE tightens visa curbs
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are intensifying scrutiny of Pakistani nationals, deporting thousands due to concerns over organised begging networks and criminal activity. Pakistan's FIA has offloaded over 66,000 travellers, addressing widespread visa misuse for begging in the Gulf, Africa, and Europe. This crackdown impacts legitimate Pakistani travellers and jeopardises Umrah/Hajj pilgrim access, highlighting severe damage to Pakistan's international image.
New Delhi: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have increased scrutiny of Pakistani nationals amid growing concerns over organised begging networks and related criminal activity abroad.
Saudi Arabia -- which is home to two of Islam’s holiest sites -- has deported almost 56,000 Pakistani nationals for begging. The figures surfaced even as Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reportedly offloaded 66,154 passengers in 2025 in a bid to check organised begging gangs from travelling overseas.
The UAE has also imposed visas restrictions on most Pakistani citizens over concerns that some travellers were entering the Gulf country to get involved in criminal activities and begging.
Importantly, these figures were released by a Pakistani parliamentary panel in the National Assembly months after Islamabad placed thousands of its citizens on the Exit Control List (ECL), effectively banning them from travelling abroad.
Last year, Saudi Arabia had asked Pakistan to check beggars from misusing Umrah visas to travel to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. For years, the misuse of overseas visas by beggars has alarmed Pakistani authorities and created serious hurdles for legitimate travellers, who increasingly face stricter checks and suspicion as a result.
What FIA Director General said
Riffat Mukhtar, the chief of Pakistan's border control security agency -- the FIA, said these networks were sullying the image of Pakistan. He underlined that the trend was not limited to the Gulf region. Similar cases, he pointed out, have been identified involving travel to Africa and Europe, along with the misuse of tourist visas for destinations such as Cambodia and Thailand.
Apart from Saudi Arabia, Dubai sent back about 6,000 individuals, while Azerbaijan deported around 2,500 Pakistani beggars, he reportedly said.
In 2024, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs had sounded warning that if the issue was not brought under check, it could adversely affect Pakistani Umrah and Hajj pilgrims. The presence of Pakistani beggars on Saudi streets, the ministry said, was evident to all.
In 2024, Secretary of Overseas Pakistanis Zeeshan Khanzada had pointed out that an overwhelming majority of beggars detained in West Asian countries were Pakistani nationals, while estimating it be around 90%.