Why are Indians giving up their citizenship

The higher the passport index ranking, the better access one gets to travel visa-free to many countries..

NEW DELHI: Over six lakh Indians have given up their citizenship in the last five years. Majority of the 40% citizenship renunciation requests have come from the United States, followed by Australia and Canada, which amount to a chunk of around 30% of such requests, according to data available by the ministry of external affairs.

According to the data, 1,44,017 people gave up their Indian citizenship in 2019, which has been the highest in the last five years. The lowest was in 2020 at 85,248, and this is probably because of the Covid-19 pandemic. At 11,287 2021 saw the steepest spike in Indians giving up their citizenship as worldwide travel and outdoor restrictions started to ease. This year's data is available only till September 2021.

No dual citizenship:

India does not offer dual citizenship so people seeking citizenship in other countries must give up their Indian passport as per law. Indians who renounce their Indian citizenship cam still apply for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, which would enable them to enjoy the benefits of residing, working or running a business in India. According to MHA, a total of 191,609 foreigners registered as OCI cardholders in 2020.

This also means that those Indians who are looking for 'citizenship by investment', will have to give up their India passports.

7,000 Indian millionaires exited India in 2019

Statistics from the Global Wealth Migration Review show that 2% of India’s millionaires have already flocked overseas in 2020. While China topped the migration list with a total of 16,000 High Networth Individuals exits, India came in second at 7,000 exits, and Russia 5,500 exits.

In fact, Indians have even topped a list compiled by the London-headquartered global citizenship and residence advisory Henley & Partners (H&P), of those seeking citizenship or residency in other countries in return for monetary investments. Countries like Portugal that run a golden visa programme as well as countries like Malta and Cyprus are preferred destinations for India's well heeled, according to H&P.

Compared with 2019, there was a 63% rise in the number of queries made by Indians over 'citizenship by investment' category, with the top investment-linked residency programmes being led by Portugal, Canada and Austria.

What is the golden visa and why is it so popular among Indians?

A Golden Visa is a citizenship-by-investment or residency-by-investment program aimed at attracting wealthy foreign nationals who want to acquire residency in a certain country by investing a substantial amount of money or by purchasing a property.

Currently, only nine countries offer a direct route to citizenship-by-investment. In the last few years, European residence-by-investment migration programs like Malta, Portugal, Greece, and other European Golden Visas gained traction.

According to Henley & Partners, families are now becoming aware that for 250k Euros, you can buy a house in Greece or Lisbon or Portugal, and at the same time get a Schengen residency through which they can also have visa-free access to 26 Schengen Zone countries.

Henley & Partners fielded 62% more enquiries for investment migration programs from Indian nationals in 2020. In the first half of 2021, there was a 30% increase in enquiries. Worldwide, nearly 30 countries offer residence- and/or citizenship-by-investment programs and Indian nationals and non-resident Indians (NRIs) are exploring all available routes.

Poor passport score

According to the Henley Passport Index, the Indian passport is currently ranked 85th, offering visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to just 58 destinations. In the last 10 years, India has only improved its visa-free score (the number of countries you can visit without a visa or get visa on arrival if you have an Indian passport) by five (from 53 in 2011). But a Greece or Portugal residency card could provide Indians visa-free travel across the Schengen countries, effectively upping their visa-free score to 84.

The higher the passport index ranking, the better access one gets to travel visa-free to many countries. They are also exempted from bureaucratic delays in the immigration process which is beneficial for traders and businessmen.

“The unexpected events of 2020 have simultaneously exacerbated push factors such as political and economic instability, and reprioritized pull factors, with stability, safety, and access to education and healthcare becoming issues of greater concern than ever,” said Dr Juerg Steffen, the CEO of Henley and Partners, in the report.

He added that in terms of enquiries about the golden visa, India remains at the top in 2020, but the combination of Covid-19 and sustained political turmoil saw the US, which was in 6th position last year, shoot up into 2nd place (as it plunged down the Henley Passport Index rankings), followed by Pakistan, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Renewed focus on safety, stability, and healthcare

For many countries with low-ranking passports on the Henley Passport Index, proliferating barriers to entry are hindering progress, even as many reopen their borders in desperate bids to reboot economic growth.

Erol Yayboke, senior fellow with the International Security Program and director of the Project on Fragility and Mobility at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, points out that the pandemic’s sustained impact on global human mobility means that there may never be a post-pandemic world to navigate. “Covid-19 is as much an economic crisis as it is a public health one, though in both regards it disproportionately negatively affects migration origin countries. Increased pressure to move for survival will be met with pandemic-related barriers to movement that are likely to linger, both because the virus itself is lingering and because increased control over migration will be difficult for some leaders to relinquish.”

“AstraZeneca’s non-replicating viral vector vaccination currently ranks number one, having been approved by more than 120 countries. Pfizer–BioNTech’s vaccination is currently approved in 98 countries, Russia’s Sputnik in 71 countries, and Moderna in 69 countries worldwide. Your health or vaccination status — sometimes in combination with additional passports — may now be even more important for your global access rights than your primary passport is," says Kevin Bürchler of the SIP Medical Family Office.

In fact this is when investment migration programs can offer stability. “For the countries that are able to offer these programs, the security they provide acts as a safeguard against the economic volatility that continues to wreak havoc across the world. For more and more people, it is self-evident that acquiring a second citizenship or alternative residence, or both, is a foundational building block for a safe and stable future," said Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners.

In this regard, Canada has emerged as the top performing investment migration country in terms of health management and risk readiness, with New Zealand in 2nd position, and Australia narrowly behind in 3rd place. Four European countries are in the top 10, with Switzerland in 4th place, Austria in 5th place, Italy in 9th place, and the UK occupying the 10th spot, showed data from Henley & Partners.

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