In the heart of Punjab, 22-year-old Jaspreet, who lives in a slum in Moga and works as a nurse in a private hospital, dreams of a future in Singapore. Inspired by her aunt's successful stint in Dubai, she sees international migration as a path to financial prosperity.

“Even working full shifts from 9 am to 7 pm here only earns me Rs 7,000 [a month],” she said. “As a housemaid or caretaker abroad, I could earn four to five times that amount.”

Jaspreet has been saving money to fund her move. According to a local immigration agent, the process – including agency fees and allocation of work – will cost her between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. “I’ve saved a little, but I still need more,” Jaspreet said.

When she was in Class 12, Jaspreet wanted to become an air hostess. “My parents didn’t support it, saying it wasn’t respectable,” she said. “They asked me to pursue nursing instead, as there were institutes offering affordable courses nearby.” She now sees nursing as a path to a good future. “Once I’m settled abroad, I might start practising nursing because it pays better. In the beginning, working as a domestic helper is more convenient and manageable.”

Jaspreet’s story reflects a broader transformation in Punjab's migration landscape. The state’s migration history is well-documented, with nearly one million people emigrating from Punjab and Chandigarh between 2016 and February 2021. A 2023 study reveals that Punjab has the second highest proportion of households involved in international migration, after Kerala. In Punjab, 13.34 percent of rural households have at least one family member living abroad.

The study analysed the migration patterns of 831 individuals from 640 households who migrated to foreign countries. Of these, 247 (30 percent) were women, but the numbers of women emigrating have been increasing. While 70 percent of the men had made the move to other countries between 2016 and 2022, 80 percent of women emigrated during these years.

Canada is the primary destination for Punjabi women, attracting 64 percent of female migrants, followed by Australia at 13 percent. Study visas were the predominant pathway, with 64.4 percent of Punjabi women using this route, mostly as a stepping stone toward work permits and permanent residency rather than a means to get an education and return home. This is followed by 15 percent of women using spousal visas for immigration.

Adding to this dynamic is the rise of ‘contract marriages’ in Punjab. For young Punjabi men unable to migrate independently, a woman’s IELTS score or qualifications have become commodities in the migration-marriage market. Families with unmarried males often sponsor the woman’s education abroad, knowing that their son can join her on a spouse visa and settle permanently.

The lure of smaller settings

An emerging trend within a trend is that many women, like Jaspreet, are seeking opportunities in smaller nations or cities. Around nine percent of Punjabi women are now migrating to regions such as Dubai, Singapore, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Iraq, Muscat Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and others.

Another study from 2024 focusing on two districts, Jalandhar and SBS Nagar, underscores this trend: 32.7 percent of women migrated to Asian countries, followed by 27.3 percent heading to the US or Canada, and 17 percent to Europe.

These smaller regions, long dominated by male migrants – 42.12 percent of whom prefer destinations like Dubai – are increasingly attracting women due to a combination of factors. Shalini Sharma, a sociologist at Punjab Agricultural University and lead author of a 2023 report on migration in Punjab, noted the growing appeal of affordable migration pathways for lower-income women. 

“These countries offer steady jobs in domestic work, caregiving, and hospitality with minimal financial investment,” Sharma said. “Unlike Western nations where migration costs are prohibitively high, these destinations allow women to achieve financial independence with fewer bureaucratic and financial hurdles.”

Shivam Sharma, a 25-year-old immigration consultant based in Chandigarh’s Sector 34, explained the stark financial contrast between migrating to smaller countries and destinations like Canada. “It costs around Rs 1.5-2 lakh to secure a work visa for countries like the UAE, Bahrain or Oman. In comparison, moving to Canada can cost Rs 30-45 lakh,” he said. “For families without substantial savings or land to sell, migrating to smaller nations becomes the only viable option.”

Allied to the low cost is growing demand. Puneet, an immigration agent with over 10 years of experience on the Chandigarh-Canada migration pathway, highlighted the growing demand for female workers in caregiving and domestic roles in smaller countries. “Employers in these nations often prefer women for such roles due to cultural preferences,” he explained. This is in contrast to places like Canada and Australia, where the job market is already saturated, particularly with workers from Punjab.

Babit, a coordinator at the Self-Employed Women’s Association Bharat in Punjab, noted that the trend of seeking opportunities in Asian countries isn’t confined to Punjabi women. “Migrant families from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, living across various cities in Punjab, are also witnessing similar eagerness among women,” Babit said. “These women are either approached by agencies or actively seek out opportunities to go abroad.”

Shalini Sharma observed a significant rise in women from Punjab seeking work visas abroad, marking a trend toward the feminisation of migration. 

“For many Punjabi women, these opportunities are more than just employment – they are a pathway to financial independence and a means to support their families while saving for their future,” she explained. Sharma highlighted a shift in aspirations driving this trend. “Women are increasingly prioritising economic stability and mobility over traditional migration routes tied to marriage or education, even if it means working in challenging environments.”

Gurmeet, a 26-year-old Dalit Sikh from Moga district working in Bahrain, said the biggest hurdle was convincing her family. “My parents weren’t very supportive at first,” Gurmeet said. “But I told them I wasn’t doing much here and that at least by working in Bahrain, I could earn money for my own marriage and save something for my dowry.” 

That plan fructified when, a year and a half ago, Gurmeet returned to Moga to marry a man who has been working in Malaysia for the past eight years.

Gurmeet first learned about work opportunities in Bahrain through a school friend who was already employed there as a domestic worker in an Arab household. “They needed a cook and were willing to cover all my travel expenses, including the tickets,” Gurmeet said. “I only had to pay for a medical examination in Delhi, which cost me around Rs 8,000.”

Working in Bahrain proved worthwhile for Gurmeet, who earned around Rs 20,000 per month. She managed to save enough to support her family and cover her marriage expenses. Now Gurmeet aspires to join her husband in Malaysia.

“For women, convincing their families often means tying migration to the logic of marriage or seeking options that require minimal investment,” said Jaspreet Kaur, who heads the Self-Employed Women’s Association in Moga district. “For Dalit women or those from landless families, the cost of migration to countries like Canada is prohibitive unless the journey is sponsored. Smaller nations become the only feasible option. At the end of the day, almost everyone in Punjab dreams of going abroad.”

Economic status and migration trends

Migration patterns in Punjab reveal a divide rooted in caste and economic status. Historically, Jat Sikh and agricultural families with better financial resources dominated overseas migration. However, the lower costs associated with moving to smaller nations have increasingly attracted marginalised communities.

For example the UAE, a leading destination for Punjabi migrants, draws a significant number of Dalits (52 percent), people from landless households (41 percent), and families with the lowest standard of living (72 percent). Meanwhile, higher-cost destinations like Canada are preferred by wealthier households.

According to data, Canada is most sought after by non-Dalit and non-OBC castes (17 percent), families owning at least 10 acres of agricultural land (25 percent), and those with the highest standard of living (16 percent). The study also found that Scheduled Caste households accounted for over one-third (33.68 percent) of those forced to sell their assets to finance migration.

Moving to smaller countries can also facilitate upward mobility. For many women, migration to smaller countries is a first step to eventually moving to destinations like Canada or Australia. Kamaljot, a 23-year-old from Jalandhar’s Basti Guja, has been intending to go to Dubai and is currently doing a six-month-long makeup artist course in the city, aiming to make herself more employable for opportunities abroad. “Once I save enough working in Bahrain, maybe I can fund myself for Australia or Canada,” Kamaljot said. “If not that, then perhaps Italy.”

Additionally, education plays a significant role, with individuals migrating to Dubai, Bahrain, and Kuwait typically being matriculates or having completed higher secondary education, while those with higher qualifications predominantly opt for countries in the Global North.

Challenges and concerns

Gurmeet described her two years working in Bahrain as a pleasant experience. “The family was nice; they were Arab, and we communicated in broken English,” she recalled. “Slowly, I even picked up some of their words. They treated us well.” Gurmeet managed to save enough during her time there to create a fixed bank deposit, a significant financial milestone for her.

However, not all women share Gurmeet’s experience. Many have stories to tell of abysmal working conditions, sexual assault, delayed salaries and mounting debts. Reports reveal that some women are forced to work 16-17 hours a day, denied contact with their families, and made to live in inhuman conditions. In extreme cases, women are sold from one household to another by local agents, physically abused, or even jailed.

The financial burden is another grim reality. Most women pay between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh to secure these jobs abroad, leaving their families in debt and under immense stress, especially when salaries are withheld for months.

Joginder Singh, Station House Officer of the NRI Wing in Jalandhar, says the growing desperation among youth to migrate abroad has led to fraudulent practices by predatory agents. He cited the case of a woman sent to Kuwait for work through the recommendation of a female friend. 

“This friend, who recommended the job, received a cut of Rs 10,000-15,000 for her involvement. When we interrogated her[the friend], she had no idea how the agent would make it possible. The woman was first sent to Dubai, from where another agent took her to Kuwait. She had expected a store or factory job, but it turned out to be domestic work in someone’s house,” Singh said. “With the embassy's intervention, she was able to return and later filed a complaint against her friend, which she eventually withdrew by mutual consent.”

Lakshmee Kant Yadav, chief of the Punjab Bureau of Investigation, said unauthorised agents proliferate in remote parts of the state. “Sub-agents, often distant relatives aware of the women’s living conditions, exploit their vulnerabilities and lure them into these arrangements,” Yadav said.

In a June 2023 case involving women trapped in Oman, 23 Punjabi women were rescued, shedding light on a disturbing trend. A significant number of women agents were found luring impoverished women from their neighborhoods, villages, or even extended families to Oman with promises of respectable jobs and attractive salaries. Following FIRs filed against three female travel agents in Jalandhar – two of whom have been arrested – the names of at least six more individuals linked to the trafficking network have emerged. Similarly, in Hoshiarpur, eight agents have been booked, six of whom are women.

“For as little as Rs 10,000, women agents send even their own family members abroad for exploitative and degrading jobs,” said Jalandhar superintendent of police Manjit Kaur, the nodal officer overseeing the district cases.

Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney managed to bring back 82 women from Oman in just five months (from May to September 2023) under his ‘Mission Hope’ initiative. “But it’s a vicious cycle,” Sahney says. “For every 10 women we rescue from shelter homes, six reach Oman the same week. We have a long road ahead.”

Compounding the problem is the fact that data on the official number of women traveling to Arab/smaller countries are unclear, as many are bypassing proper work visas in favor of tourist visas for Dubai. Once in Dubai, agents arrange for their transfer to other destinations.

In 2023, the Punjab government set up a Special Investigation Team to tackle the human trafficking of women, particularly to Arab countries like Oman and Saudi Arabia. According to SIT leader and Superintendent of Police Randhir Kumar, unscrupulous agents often employ deceptive tactics, promising work visas but sending women on tourist visas instead.

Sources from the Ministry of External Affairs emphasise the crucial role embassies play in curbing trafficking by closely scrutinising visa applications. “Why would a poor, illiterate woman travel on a tourist visa to Dubai?” said an MEA official while speaking of red flags that embassies look for.

The feminisation of migration from Punjab represents both opportunity and challenge. While it offers women paths to financial independence and personal autonomy, it also raises concerns about exploitation and safety. As Shalini Sharma said, “It’s a journey of transformation, where women seek to transcend traditional barriers of caste, class, and economic constraints to redefine their futures.”

This report is republished with permission from IndiaSpend, a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

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