More than 1.6 lakh Indians renounce their citizenship in 2021, the government has told Parliament. People migrate away from their places of origin all over the world in search of employment and better opportunities, although the justifications vary by nation and among various socioeconomic levels.
In response to a non-starred question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, July 19, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported that in 2021, more than 1.6 lakh Indians renounced their Indian citizenship. In compared to the 85,256 persons who renounced their Indian citizenship in the Pandemic-hit year of 2020, the figures represented a significant increase. However, they represented a somewhat lesser increase than the 1.44 lakh people who renounced their passports in 2019.
According to government statistics, the United States (78,284) received the most Indians who renounced their citizenship in 2021, followed by Australia (23,533), Canada (21,597), and the United Kingdom (14,637).
Dual citizenship is not permitted in India, and obtaining citizenship in another nation instantly revokes one’s Indian citizenship.
What causes people to renounce their Indian citizenship?
The causes differ greatly between nations, as well as between socioeconomic and ethnic groupings. People often migrate abroad in search of better jobs and living conditions, while some are compelled to leave their country due to climate change or unfavourable domestic political events.
Some older Indians are preferring to move away to live with family who have settled abroad as the size of the Indian diaspora has grown and younger generations are choosing to hold passports from other nations. People who leave India may be doing so to avoid the law or out of fear of being prosecuted for suspected crimes in several high-profile cases, such as the jeweller Mehul Choksi and Vijay Malia.
According to a 2020 analysis by the Global Wealth Migration Reviews, high net worth people from all over the world who renounce their native citizenship may do so due to increased crime rates or a lack of job possibilities at home. “It can also be a sign of bad things to come as (they) are often the first people to leave- they have the means to leave unlike middle class citizens,” the report said.
The Global Wealth Migration Reviews listed a number of additional factors, such as the safety of women and children, lifestyle considerations like climate and pollution, financial considerations like taxes, better healthcare for families and educational opportunities for kids, and the desire to flee oppressive governments, as additional factors motivating people to migrate to other countries and eventually obtain citizenship.
When leaving India, why do people select particular nations?
Despite the fact that the Worldwide Wealth Migration Review concentrates on global data, several of the criteria it lists may also be relevant to Indians in particular. In general, people tend to automatically choose nations where Indians have a long history of immigration or where they have relatives or friends, as well as factors like simpler paperwork and a more hospitable social and ethnic context.
The report highlighted the global popularity of Australia as a country that has been witnessing high inflow numbers. Factors specific to Australia that made it a popular destination included its points-based immigration system that favoured the wealthy and high- earning professionals, the report said.
Australia may have been a top choice, in part because English is the primary language and because the healthcare system there, in contrast to the US, was less complicated and more affordable for elderly people with high net worth.
According to the research, Singapore is Asia’s “top wealth management Centre” in the making. Marketing has the ability to draw large numbers of these people.
Government has to take essential steps of improve the causes (environment, employment, infrastructure, etc.) of renouncing the Indian citizenship. By the awareness programmes, seminars, providing proper infrastructure, environment ecofriendly may leads to improves the statistics of people who renouncing Indian citizenship and also give their contributions in nation building.
