Over 6 Lakh Indians Gave Up Citizenship, Know Why?

Over 6 Lakh Indians Gave Up Citizenship, Know Why?

In the last five years, more than 6 lakh Indians have given up their citizenship. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that according to the information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, a total number of 1,33,83,718 Indian nationals are living in foreign countries. He further stated that 1,33,049 Indians gave up Indian citizenship in 2017, 1,34,561 in 2018, 1,44,017 in 2019, 85,248 in 2020 and 1,11,287 till September 30, 2021.

About 40% of the citizenship renunciation requests come from the United States, followed by Australia and Canada, which amount to the total of 30% of such requests.

According to the reports, more number of people gave up their Indian citizenship in 2019, whereas the lowest was reported in 2020 and the low rate can be related to Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, more Indians gave up their citizenship as worldwide travel and outdoor restrictions started to ease.

Under The Indian Citizenship Act, 1955, Persons of Indian Origin are not allowed citizenship of two countries. If the person has Indian Passport and then obtains the passport of some other country, they will be required to surrender their Indian Passport immediately after they gain nationality of the other country.

The majority of Indians do it because of the benefits they gain by using other countries’ passports. According to the international passport index, India is ranked 69th in terms of passport power. When compared to other countries, Australia is ranked third, the United States is fifth, Singapore is sixth, and Canada is seventh. UAE is ranked first, followed by New Zealand at number two.