India dominates global visa programmes

India ranks at or near the top across major visa programmes tracked, including as the number one source of US H‑1B visas, number two for UK Skilled Worker visas and number two for EU Blue Cards, a report said on Thursday.

India continues to power major global skilled visa pipelines and is poised to benefit from shifting migration patterns as employers pay premiums for scarce talent rather than seeking cost saving, the report from workforce management services firm Deel said.

Indians also led in both UAE Golden Visas and standard employment visas while already accounting for 38 per cent of the UAE’s total population.

The report, covering data from over 40,000 companies hiring across more than 150 countries, found visa holders consistently earn more than local workers in comparable roles, underscoring that global hiring is driven by skill scarcity rather than wage arbitrage.

In the United States, H‑1B workers earn a median $140,000 versus $130,000 for citizens in similar roles; in the UK Skilled Worker visa holders earn £96,000 versus £87,000 for nationals; and in the UAE Golden Visa holders earn 6,05,000 AED compared with 4,59,000 AED for standard employment visa holders.

Australia recorded the fastest growth in hiring Indian talent on Deel’s platform, surging 724 per cent year‑over‑year, followed by the UK at 142 per cent and the US at 139 per cent.

The UAE remains the top destination for Indian professionals globally, followed by Singapore, the UK, the US, and Canada.

The report highlighted growing international demand for Indian tech talent, particularly across engineering, software development, AI, and digital services.

Germany’s Opportunity Card programme, designed to attract skilled non-EU workers without requiring a job offer beforehand, has already issued nearly one-third of its total permits to Indians.

“Rather than concentrating in a handful of traditional destinations, talent is moving across a broader set of markets,” said Lauren Thomas, Economist at Deel.

The report said that India may be entering a new phase of increasingly attracting globally trained professionals back home as domestic opportunities expand.