Zakaat should be given to local people or should be sent abroad?
Some people spend Zakaat in foreign areas apart from their local areas. In this regard, it is better that Zakaat should be given to local poor and needy people. If there are no poor people in an area or if the people of another area are more deserving, then it is better to spend the Zakaat abroad. As mentioned in Fatawa A’alamgiri, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 190.
As is also mentioned in Tafseer Qurtubi, Surah Tauba, verse no. 60.