The key facts
- Three Russians were removed from Goa on November 4, and three more are being prepared for deportation
- Migration raids are underway in the areas of Mandrem, Kerim and Pernem
- Sources differ on the number of deported foreigners: 76 as of November 1 or 160 in recent months
Three deported, three more await removal
A campaign against foreigners violating migration rules continues in the Indian state of Goa. Three Russian citizens were deported home on November 4: all of them had entered on tourist visas but stayed in the country after their permitted period of residence expired. Two of them had previously been convicted by a local court, while the third was held in a temporary detention center before removal. This was reported by the Telegram channel Mash, which is cited by Life.ru and Gazeta.Ru.
Raids in northern Goa
During a separate raid in Kerim, in northern Goa, the migration service found five foreigners without valid visas, including two Russian men and a Russian woman. Deportation proceedings have begun against all identified violators, and their movements have been restricted. The checks cover private homes and guest complexes in the areas of Mandrem, Kerim and Pernem, where tourists stay; particular attention is paid to foreigners who live long-term in rented housing.
New obligations for landlords
Owners of hotels, guest houses and landlords are reminded of their obligation to report the check-in of foreigners to the authorities within 24 hours and to provide information about guests' departure just as promptly. Here the sources differ on details: Life.ru writes that Form III is used for this, replacing the former C-Form, while Gazeta.Ru, citing Mash, indicates that information is still submitted via the C-Form.
Scale of the campaign and conflicting figures
The checks are part of a campaign to identify violators of migration law, and published data on its scale differ. According to Life.ru, citing Goa's migration service, by November 1, 2026, the state authorities had deported 76 foreign citizens since the beginning of the year, and the raids will continue. Mash, whose figures Gazeta.Ru cites, claims that in recent months 160 foreigners have been removed from Goa, including dozens of Russians, and links the raids to the authorities' fight against crime and illegal business. These figures cannot be reconciled: the publications do not specify the counting periods, so the exact number of deportees remains unclear.
Context: tighter controls and the visa question
Tightened migration controls are being seen not only in India. Life.ru previously reported on tightened migration controls in Georgia: in the third quarter of 2026 alone, the republic's authorities deported 109 Russian citizens — almost one and a half times more than in the entire previous year — after Georgian law enforcement received additional powers to check foreigners' documents. In addition, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's consular department, Alexei Klimov, statedthat Moscow and New Delhi decided not to continue work on an agreement on visa-free travel for tourist groups: according to him, drafting the document was initially a 'non-trivial task', since India had not previously practiced such international agreements.
