Coming home: Indian professionals bring their skills back to India

A survey of more than 1,200 Indians living abroad shows that family, not money, is the main reason many are moving back home.

A Change in the Indian Dream

For many years, success for many Indians meant moving abroad. Higher pay, better jobs and the chance to work at big global companies attracted thousands of Indian engineers, doctors, business owners and office professionals.

But what happens after they have achieved what they went abroad for?

More and more Indians who have worked overseas for years are now coming back home. Some have been away for ten years. Others have been away for almost twenty.

These are not students changing their minds about studying abroad. They are experienced people who built careers, homes and friendships overseas. Now they feel that home offerssomething more valuable.

This trend is called the “reverse brain drain”. It means skilled people who once left the country are returning, and bringing their knowledge and experience with them.

Between January and March 2025, a group called BackToIndia asked members of its WhatsApp groups why they were returning. It received 1,247 answers from people in 14 countries.

Most of them, 74%, said being closer to their ageing parents was one of their top three reasons.About half, 51%, said they wanted their children to grow up connected to Indian culture. Visa and immigration worries came next at 43%. Job or business opportunities in India were mentioned by 31%.

For many, the choice is not about earning more money. It is about what matters most in life.

A New India Full of Opportunity

The India they are returning to is very different from the one they left. The technology industry has grown fast, big global companies have opened large offices, and new startups are creating new kinds of jobs.

This means experienced professionals can now find senior jobs at home, without having to live abroad.

For people who already have international experience, this makes coming home an easy choice. Many now see India as a place where they can keep growing the careers they built overseas.

What the Maldives Can Learn

The Maldives can take some useful lessons from India’s story. Like India, many young Maldivians go abroad to study and work, and some never come back. India shows that people will return when home offers good jobs, a stable future and a strong sense of family and belonging.

For the Maldives, this means creating skilled jobs in fields such as technology, health, finance and tourism management, so that Maldivians trained abroad have a reason to come home. It also means keeping in touch with Maldivians overseas, celebrating those who return, and making iteasier for them to start businesses or share their knowledge.