More than 1.6 lakh Indians gave up their citizenship in 2021: Govt data

The number of Indians who gave up their citizenship witnessed a significant rise in 2021, with 1,63,370 renouncing the same as opposed to 85,256 in 2020, according to data released by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Tuesday.

In 2019, 1,44,017 Indians renounced their citizenship.

The information was shared by Union minister of state (MoS) of home affairs Nityanand Rai as a reply to Haji Fazlur Rehman, a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP in the Lok Sabha.

Rehman had sought details about the number of Indian nationals who relinquished their citizenship till date starting 2019, the reasons cited for the move, and the countries where they received a citizenship.

The government data shows that the United States (US) remains the preferred choice for settling down, with the number of Indians who received citizenship in the country increasing from 30,828 in 2020 to 78,284 in 2021.

Australia has emerged as the second-preferred country in the past year with 23,533 Indians renouncing their citizenship for one in the Down Under. In 2020, as many as 13,518 Indians gave up their citizenship for one in Australia.

Canada, which witnesses heavy influx of Indians both for education and jobs every year, slipped to number three in 2021 with a total of 21,597 Indians choosing the country’s citizenship and giving up their own.

Here’s a look at the top 10 countries where Indians renounced their citizenship in 2021:

1. United States (78,284 in 2021 from 30,828 in 2020)

2. Australia (23,533 in 2021 from 13,518 in 2020)

3. Canada (21,597 in 2021 from 17,093 in 2020)

4. United Kingdom (14,637 in 2021 from 6,489 in 2020)

5. Italy (5,986 in 2021 from 2,312 in 2020)

6. New Zealand (2,643 in 2021 from 2,116 in 2020)

7. Singapore (2,516 in 2021 from 2,289 in 2020)

8. Germany (2,381 in 2021 from 2,152 in 2020)

9. The Netherlands (2,187 in 2021 from 1,213 in 2020)

10. Sweden (1,841 in 2021 from 1,046 in 2020)

In a Parliament session in December last year, Rai said that over 8.5 lakh Indian nationals renounced their citizenship in the past seven years till September 30, 2021.