Immigration to India
There are 4.9 million foreign-born residents in India, accounting for 0.4% of its population. 98% of immigrants to India came from a previous residence elsewhere in Asia.
History
Ancient era
India has a long history of accepting refugees. Its Jewish community dates back to the fall of Jerusalem in the first century AD, and its Zoroastrianism-adhering Parsis immigrated to escape the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia.Medieval era
, Turks, and Central Asians migrated to India during the Indo-Muslim period. They participated in the imperial bureaucracy, brought Muslim influences such as Sufism, and helped to form the Indo-Persian culture.Colonial era
The British colonial presence in India varied in characteristics over time; British people generally stayed in the colony on a temporary basis, and were sometimes aiming to avoid local cultural habits and contact. Children would often grow up in India, be sent to Britain to receive a "proper" education, and then return to India as adults. With the mortality rate for foreigners being high at the time due to disease, playing British sports was one way that the British could maintain their health and spirits; in the words of a contemporary writer, it was best for Englishmen to "defend themselves from the magic of the land by sports, games, clubs."Contemporary era
The modern dynamics of migration to India are often specific to India's neighbourhood; for example, 97% of immigrants from Bangladesh live in the Bangladesh-bordering regions of India. Medical tourism has also been a factor in some migration decisions.Return migration of the Indian diaspora is another factor; for example, because of the COVID-19 pandemic's economic disruption, some Indian labour migrants in the Arab Gulf countries were forced to come to India, generally via the Vande Bharat Mission.