Indians go West, take up ‘residence by investment’

Source: The post is based on the article “Indians go West, take up ‘residence by investment” published in The Hindu on 20th February 2023.

What is the News?

According to Ministry of External Affairs data, over 2.25 lakh Indians renounced their Indian citizenship in 2022, the highest since 2011.

Note: India does not allow dual citizenship and taking up the citizenship of another country automatically results in the cancellation of Indian citizenship. 

How many people have renounced their citizenship in 2022?

A total of 2.25 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2022, the highest since 2011.

There has been a surge in requests for residence-through-investment programmes especially the U.S. EB-5 visa, Portugal Golden Visa, Australian Global Talent Independent Visa, Malta Permanent Residency Programme and Greece Residence by Investment Programme.

This data reflects how Indians especially high net-worth individuals (HNIs) are moving westwards. According to the Henley Global Citizens Report, there were 3.47 lakh HNIs in India in December 2021. Of these, 1.49 lakh HNIs were found in just nine cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Gurugram and Ahmedabad.

Note: HNIs are those who have wealth of over $1 million or ₹8.2 crore. 

Why do people renounce citizenship?

A 2020 report by the Global Wealth Migration Review showed that High net worth Individuals (HNIs) around the world who renounce citizenship acquired at birth may do so for reasons of rising crime rates or the lack of business opportunities at home.

Among the other reasons why people make the decision to migrate to other countries and to eventually acquire citizenship were: the safety of women and children, lifestyle factors like climate and pollution, financial concerns including taxes, better healthcare for families and educational opportunities for children, and to escape oppressive governments.