India's government plans to evacuate thousands of Indian workers who have lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia and cannot afford to pay for a flight home.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the government is arranging exit documents for those workers who want to return to India.

Ms Swaraj told politicians that India's junior foreign minister, VK Singh, will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet Saudi officials to arrange for the workers' return.

Some of the workers have not been paid for months, she said.

They were mostly employed by Saudi construction companies and were laid off amid a slowdown in the industry due to low global oil prices.

Around 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia have lost their jobs.