NEW DELHI: Even as tensions escalate across West Asia, queues outside visa application centres for Gulf countries in Delhi show little sign of slowing, with many workers saying economic compulsions leave them little choice but to travel to the restive region.
Outside centres processing visas for UAE and Saudi Arabia on Monday, dozens of applicants were seen sitting on pavements sorting documents, clutching plastic folders stuffed with medical reports and job contracts. Recruitment agents swiftly moved between them, pockets bulging with passports as they guided the workers through the process.
Most applicants said they had heard about the conflict on media but did not fully understand the geopolitical situation or how it might affect the countries they intend to head for.
Dilip Yadav (37) from Bihar's Saharsa, who recently returned to India after working as a mechanical fitter in Dubai for nearly a decade, was at the UAE visa centre guiding his younger brother through his application process.
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Over 52,000 Indians fly home from UAE, Gulf within a week as authorities issue update amid US-Iran conflict"I have seen on TV that a war is on, but what can we do? Without money, we will die here as well," he said, explaining that his family depended on remittances. "People fight for some time and then things settle down. And bombs fall on big buildings, not on labour camps," he said with a wry smile.
Yadav said he is back in India to take care of his family. "My father recently passed away and my mother, wife and two children were left to fend for themselves. The kids were becoming wayward in my absence," he said.
Now, it is his 28-year-old brother's turn to try his luck in the Gulf. "He had earlier worked as a construction worker in South Africa, but the salary being offered in Dubai is better," Yadav said.
Follow US-Israel-Iran War News Live UpdatesFor many like Yadav, the financial difference between working in India and the Gulf outweighs the risks. "Here you get Rs 10,000 a month. There, the pay can go up to Rs 45,000, overtime is extra, and accommodation and food allowances are provided," Yadav said.
Several applicants said they had already taken loans or paid recruitment fees and could not afford to cancel their plans now. They said the current applications are advance filings and hoped the situation will stabilise by the time work permits are processed.
A few metres away, Jagdish (22) from Jharkhand, a first-time applicant, was seen anxiously making calls after learning that his medical test report had been rejected. It has been a year since he got his passport and he hopes to travel to the Gulf as a mason.
"My mother and unmarried sister are at home. We are poor, and need to build a house and get my sister married. I have no option but to go," he said. Asked about the conflict, he shrugged: "If death has to come, it can come here as well."
Recruitment agents facilitating the applications said the demand has not been affected by the conflict. Ankit, a contractor guiding a group of applicants, said visa processing was continuing as usual. "Applications are still coming. There may be delays but recruitment is continuing. People don't always get well-paying jobs here, so they look for opportunities in the Gulf," he said.
Outside the centre, some families were waiting while their relatives were inside to submit documents. "People go abroad because they have no choice. No one wants to leave the country willingly," said Irshad, who was accompanying a relative.
Similar scenes unfolded at a Saudi visa centre. Lakhbeer Singh (29) from Punjab's Sangrur, who has two children aged five and two, said he had applied for a driver's job in the Gulf that offered Rs 1.5 lakh a month. "I have two small children. I need money to bring them up. I must go. It may take a month before I get to travel, but whatever happens will happen," he said.
Jagjeet Singh (40), a heavy-duty driver heading to West Asia for the fourth time, said the financial difference between working there and in India is significant. "People go there out of compulsion. Without money, we will starve here as well," he said. "You get overtime, insurance and hospital facilities abroad. Here, drivers work round the clock but most of them aren't paid extra."
TOI met another first-time applicant, a 35-year-old woman from Kerala. "Friends are saying things are normal there. I am applying for now, I will decide later whether I will go," she said.
Flights to and from Gulf countries like UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are currently operating on a limited basis following disruptions caused by Iran's retaliation. Many of the visa applications being processed now are advance filings, with workers hoping to travel in the coming weeks once flights normalise.
About nine million Indians live in Gulf countries, and the remittances they send home serve as a lifeline for many families. According to a govt of India statement, around 52,000 Indians returned home between March 1 and March 7 due to the evolving situation in the region. Most of them took non-scheduled flights and many of them were stranded for long hours during transit.
Yet outside the visa centres in Delhi, the steady flow of applicants suggested that for many workers, the immediate pressures of unemployment and supporting their families here weigh far more heavily than the risks of a conflict they perceive as distant.