Nearly 72% of migrant workers surveyed in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala said their living standards had improved since moving, while more than half wanted to remain in these states.
Only 19.4% of workers reported easy access to welfare benefits, while 69.2% faced difficulties accessing healthcare.
The survey found that 86.4% of workers had no written employment contracts, while 57.6% received their wages in cash.
Women migrant workers earned approximately Rs 3,313 less per month than men, even after accounting for other factors.
The survey of 1,824 workers across 33 districts called for stronger social protection, workplace safeguards and better coordination between states.
Nearly 72 per cent of migrant workers in three southern Indian states say their living standards have improved since moving, but many continue to face difficulties accessing welfare benefits and healthcare, according to a new survey.
The South India Interstate Migration Survey (SIIMS) 2026, released on September 28, examined the experiences of workers who had migrated to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, primarily from northern and eastern India.
More than half of those surveyed said they wanted to remain in the southern states where they were working.
The study, conducted by the International Institute for Migration and Development (IIMAD) in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), surveyed 1,824 migrant workers across 33 districts in the three states.
It examined their living and working conditions, access to essential services and reasons for leaving their home states.
The findings suggest that while migration has helped many workers improve their livelihoods, access to social protection and secure employment remains a challenge.
Only 19.4 per cent of surveyed workers said they could easily access welfare benefits after moving to another state. Another 35.3 per cent reported partial access, while 45.3 per cent said they faced considerable difficulties.
The survey also found that 73.3 per cent of workers experienced problems accessing welfare schemes and services, while 69.2 per cent reported difficulties obtaining healthcare.
Access to welfare varied across the three states, with Tamil Nadu recording the most favourable results and Karnataka the least favourable, according to the report.
Employment conditions also remained a concern. The survey found that 86.4 per cent of workers did not have written employment contracts, while 57.6 per cent received their wages in cash. Women migrant workers earned approximately Rs 3,313 less per month than men, even after the researchers accounted for other factors. The average monthly income among workers surveyed was Rs 17,640.
Despite difficulties accessing welfare benefits, 88.2 per cent of surveyed migrant workers had access to formal financial services. However, the survey found considerable differences between states and occupations.
Karnataka recorded the highest proportion of workers excluded from formal financial services, at 26.8 per cent. Among scrap collectors, the proportion was 31.3 per cent.
The findings suggest that access to banking and other financial services does not necessarily translate into access to welfare benefits or secure working conditions.
The survey found that workers had moved primarily because of limited employment opportunities and insecure livelihoods in their home states. Respondents cited low wages, unemployment, irregular work, poverty and debt among their reasons for migrating.
The report suggested that migration was not simply a means of earning more money, but also a way for households to manage financial uncertainty.
The study covered workers in agriculture, fishing and other marine activities, as well as daily-wage labourers.
According to the supplied findings, 43 per cent of respondents were under the age of 45.
Sanjay Awasthi, Head of IOM India and Bhutan, said migrant workers needed support throughout the migration process, not just while travelling between states. “Safe migration is not only determined by how people move from one place to another, but also by the support they receive throughout the journey,” he said.
“From making informed decisions before migration to safety during migration and assistance at destination, we must ensure that migrants have access to the necessary information, services, and opportunities at every stage,” he added.
The report recommended measures to improve migrant workers' access to welfare, employment protections and financial services.
It called for expanding access to benefits through the One Nation, One Ration Card system, which allows eligible beneficiaries to obtain subsidised food grains outside their home states.
The study also recommended multilingual help desks and helplines to help migrant workers navigate public services.
Other proposals included improving access to formal financial services, strengthening labour inspections to ensure timely wage payments, and introducing better workplace safety measures.
The researchers also called for closer coordination between states and policies that account for differences in workers' needs according to their destination, occupation and gender.
