Over 3.9 lakh Indians gave up citizenship in 3 years
As many as 3,92,643 Indians renounced their citizenship over the last three years until December 2021, the central government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai cited information available with the Ministry of External Affairs to present the figure in the Parliament. Here are more details on this.
Why does this story matter?
Dual citizenship is not permitted in India, thus obtaining citizenship of another nation inevitably results in the loss of Indian citizenship. The causes differ significantly between countries, as well as between socioeconomic and ethnic groupings. As per Global Wealth Migration Review, people generally leave the country seeking better work and living conditions, while some are forced away by climate change or unfavorable political events.
Of these, 2021 saw the most citizenship renunciations
According to official data, 1.44 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2019. The next year, 85,256 persons relinquished their Indian citizenship, with the figure rising to 1.63 lakh by 2021. The number of Indians who gave up citizenship was the highest in 2021. The figure also tops the list for the past seven years, according to data presented in parliament.
Most popular countries among Indians
The US remains the preferred choice for settling down, followed by Canada and Australia. When broken down, 1,70,795 people took up American citizenship, 64,071 took up citizenship in Canada, 58,391 in Australia, 35,435 in the United Kingdom, 12,131 in Italy, 8,882 in New Zealand, 7,046 in Singapore, 6,690 in Germany, 3,754 in Sweden and 48 in Pakistan, among others.
How to apply for citizenship renouncement?
As per the official report, the online portal for renunciation of Indian citizenship was activated in August 2021. It's done through end-to-end processing of applications and is carried out in the online Citizenship Module. The declaration of renunciation of citizenship falls under Section 8 of the Citizenship Act. Interested persons can visit https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in and accordingly apply for the renunciation.
Reasons for giving up citizenship
In response to queries, Nityanand Rai informed Parliament that Indians abandoned their citizenship "for reasons personal to them." However, according to the Global Wealth Migration Review 2020, residents across the world, including India, give up their citizenship for a variety of reasons, especially adverse economic and political conditions. It said the reasons vary greatly among countries and socioeconomic and ethnic groupings.
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