Commencing 3 May 1892, ships sailed with some regularity carrying repatriated indentured Indians returning to Calcutta and Madras, India from Fiji.

Conditions of return

According to Clause 10 of each labourer's indenture agreement:

10. After ten years continuous residence every Emigrant who was above the age of twelve on introduction to the Colony and who during that period has completed an industrial residence of five years, shall be entitled to a free-return passage if he claims it within two years after the completion of the ten years’ continuous residence. If the Emigrant was under twelve years of age when he was introduced into the colony, he will be entitled to a free return passage if he claims it before he reaches 24 years of age and fulfills the other conditions as to residence. A child of an Emigrant born within the colony will be entitled to a free return passage until he reaches the age of twelve, and must be accompanied on the voyage by his parents or guardian.

Due to the high cost involved in returning after only 5 years of servitude, of the indentured immigrants returning to India, most left Fiji under the free-return passage option 10–12 years after arrival. As the first ship carrying indentured Indians to Fiji "the Leonidas" arrived in 1879, the first ship to take Indians back "the British Peer" set sail just over 12 years after in 1892.

Repatriation

Given the steady influx of ships carrying indentured Indians to Fiji up until 1916, repatriate Indians generally boarded these same ships on their return voyage 10–15 days after arrival. The total number of repatriates under the Fiji indenture system is recorded as 39,261, while the number of arrivals is said to have been 60,553. As a proportion this works out to be 64.8% which appears quite high. However, this figure includes children born in Fiji so the actual percentage is significantly lower.

After 1951 return voyages by ship ceased and arrangements were made for flights from Sydney to Bombay, the first of which departed in July 1955. Ship charters were however organised for the Fiji to Sydney leg of the journey.

List of ship charters

Name of Ship	Date of Departure	Calcutta Departures	Madras Departures	Total Departures
British Peer	3 May 1892	260M 111W 35B 43G 15I 464T	n/a	464
Hereford	25 June 1892	24T	n/a	24
Moy	28 April 1893	317M 133F 34B 31G 17I 529T	n/a	529
Ems	5 May 1894	312M 148F 38B 42G 36I 576T	n/a	576
Hereford	16 July 1894	277M 125F 41B 28G 21I 447T	n/a	447
Virawa	14 May 1895	347M 147F 38B 40G 36I 608T	n/a	608
Erne	14 May 1896	371M 170F 55B 50G 29I 675T	n/a	675
Moy	15 June 1898	273M 65F 25B 19G 13I 393T	n/a	393
Avon	10 August 1899	213M 66F 20B 15G 14I 328T	n/a	328
Ganges	12 September 1899	24M 5F 2B 2G 33T	n/a	33
Elbe	23 July 1900	245M 87F 28B 31G 14I 405T	n/a	405
S.S Fazilka	2 July 1901	298M 107F 45B 44G 33I 515T	n/a	515
S.S Fazilka	5 July 1902	291M 90F 44B 41G 13I 479T	n/a	479
Arno	15 September 1903	325M 114F 63B 52G 25I 549T	n/a	549
Arno	19 August 1904	211M 91F 34B 37G 20I 366T	n/a	366
S.S Virawa	26 July 1905	193M 64W 31B 36G 17I 341T	n/a	341
S.S Fazilka	1 May 1906	221M 71F 13B 12G 4I 321T	n/a	321
S.S Fazilka	10 February 1907	316M 96W 56B 42G 23I 533T	34M 21F 4B 1G 3I 63T	596
S.S Fazilka	1 May 1907	15M 8F 2G 1I 26T	14M 6F 1G 21T	47
S.S Sangola	30 March 1908	363M 115F 42B 60G 26I 606T	51M 24F 6B 3G 3I 87T	693
S.S Sangola	11 February 1909	247M 59F 18B 24G 12I 60T	30M 15F 1B 3G 5I 54T	114
S.S Sangola	16 March 1910	245M 63F 18B 14G 8I 351T	12M 6F 1B 1G 20T	371
S.S Santhia	30 April 1910	14M 4F 18T	13M 5F 1B 3G 1I 23T	41
S.S Sutlej	8 July 1911	408M 78F 30B 21G 9I 545T	66M 24F 7B 2G 3I 102T	647
S.S Sutlej	7 October 1911	34M 12F 2B 2G 3I 53T	3M 4F 1G 8T	61
S.S Sutlej	9 May 1912	383M 108F 47B 59G 20I 616T	54M 34F 7B 6G 2I 103T	719
S.S Ganges	28 February 1913	681T	126T	807
S.S Chenab	8 March 1914	675T	264T	801
S.S Chenab	22 June 1914	321T	33T	354
S.S Mutlah	13 May 1915	473T	95T	568
S.S Chenab	6 September 1916	486	242T	728
Ganges I	7 June 1920	844T	303T	1,147
Ganges II	30 August 1920	1046T	82T	1,128
S.S Ganges	12 November 1920	892T	239T	1,131
S.S Torilla	18 December 1920	1134T	105T	1,239
S.S Ganges	12 February 1921	1444T	149T	1,593
S.S Ganges	24 May 1921	1000T	214T	1214
S.S Ganges	7 June 1920	695T	241T	936
S.S Ganges	12 November 1920	799T	166T	965
S.S Torilla	18 December 1920	1808T	93T	1,901
Ganges	12 February 1921	974T	100T	1,074
Ganges	24 May 1921	996T	178T	1,174
S.S Chenab	22 November 1921	739T	249T	988
Sutlej	6 June 1922	512T	454T	966
Chenab	27 December 1922	565T	372T	937
Ganges	6 November 1923	411T	560T	971
Sutlej	20 December 1924	558T	464T	1,022
?	25 January 1926	701T	487T	1,188
S.S Ganges	31 January 1927	528T	n/a	528
Ganges	26 February 1927	514T	582T	1,096
S.S Sutlej	21 April 1928	530T	442T	972
S.S Sutlej	8 July 1929	365T	286T	651
S.S Sutlej	16 March 1930	346T	305T	651
S.S Ganges	7 September 1931	103T	171T	274
Ganges	14 May 1932	76T	93T	169
Ganges	30 August 1933	136T	112T	248
S.S Ganges	22 August 1934	78T	45T	123
S.S Elephanta	14 November 1935	82T	80T	162
S.S Ganges	24 December 1936	105T	66T	171
S.S Ganges	21 April 1938	109T	86T	195
S.S Ganges	20 September 1939	56T	65T	121
M.V Orna	3 August 1947	106T	52T	158
S.S Selma	13 May 1945	12T	7T	19
M.V Orna	5 March 1948	29T	32T	61
M.V Orna	18 August 1948	70T	50T	120
M.V Orna	8 July 1949	95T	47T	142
?	28 March 1950	53T	22T	75
Sirsa	17 May 1951	34T	12T	46
			Total	39,157

M - Men,
W - Women,
B - Boys,
G - Girls,
I - Infants,
T - Total

List of ship charters - Fiji to Sydney

Name of Ship	Flight Departure Date	Number of Departures
Strathmore	25 July 1955	25T
Stratheden	29 November 1955	68T
Strathnaver	24 July 1956	12T
	Total	105