An estimated 1,663,440 Indians renounced their citizenship between 2011 and 2022, according to information provided by the Ministry of External Affairs in response to a parliamentary question. Mint looks at what is happening.
– In response to a query in Parliament, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that over 1.6 million Indians had given up their citizenship in the decade between 2011 and 2022.
– As of June this year, 87, 026 Indians had given up their citizenship. In 2022, the number stood at 2,25,620. The number of Indians giving up their citizenship has accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Those same individuals have acquired citizenship of a vast array of countries. The United States was a hot favourite with 71,991 individuals acquiring US citizenship in 2022. Canada followed close behind with 60,139 persons opting to become citizens of the North American country.
– Canada, incidentally, has also recorded an explosive growth in Indians acquiring citizenship. Compared to 2021, the number of Indians who took on Canadian nationality almost tripled by 2022.
– Another popular destination is Australia as 40,377 Indians renounced their nationality to acquire Australian citizenship in 2022. Here again, the number acquiring Australian passports has almost trebled since 2020.
– The United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands have also proven attractive for those looking to renounce their Indian nationality.
– However, numbers remain low for other developed economies like Japan and South Korea. In fact, only 10 Indians took up South Korean citizenship in 2022.
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Updated: 11 Aug 2023, 06:26 PM IST
