Close to 9.46 lakh Indians have renounced Indian citizenship in seven years since 2015. Last year saw the highest at 1.63 lakh, an analysis of answers placed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Parliament in the last two years stated.
The number of Indians who relinquished Indian Citizenship in 2019 and 2020 are 1,44,017; 85,256, respectively. In 2021, almost half of 1.63 lakh — 78,284 Indians who relinquished Indian Citizenship, received citizenship in the USA, followed by 23,533 who took citizenship in Australia; 21,597 in Canada; and 14,637 in the UK.
The details were revealed as Rai replied to a query of Bahujan Samaj Party leader Haji Fazlur Rehman who asked whether the Minister of Home Affairs will be pleased to state the details and the number of persons who have renounced Indian citizenship till the current year since 2019.
In 2020, the US was the biggest attraction, followed by Canada (17,093) and Australia (13,518). Between 2019 and 2021, Indians have chosen 103 countries to take citizenship. Individuals renounced citizenship for reasons personal to them, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said.
Forty-one Indian nationals in Pakistan also gave up their Indian citizenship last year, compared to only seven in 2020.
Around 326 Indians renounced their citizenship while being in the UAE last year. They applied for citizenship in countries such as Albania, France, Malta, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Grenada, Jordon, Mauritius, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, among others.
Overall, 9,32,276 Indians renounced their citizenships in favour of other countries between 2015 and 2021, according to the government statistics shared with Parliament in February last year and Tuesday.
At the same time, the data shared by the MHA in November 2021 stated 10,645 foreign nationals applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020, with maximum 7,782 from Pakistan and 795 Afghan nationals.
Of these, 4,177 persons were granted Indian citizenship by the government. 452 “stateless” persons also applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020, according to the home ministry. Still, it is not known how many were given Indian citizenship and which territory they applied for the citizenship from.
The MHA said last year that 1,33,83,718 Indian nationals living in foreign countries. A law brought in by the government in 2019 to grant Indian citizenship to the six persecuted minorities – Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian – from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, is yet to be implemented for lack of rules.
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