Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM), Dr S Jaishankar, informed the Lok Sabha (House of the People or Lower House) that over 87,000 Indians have renounced their citizenship in the first six months of this year.
Jaishankar gave the year-wise data of Indians who relinquished their citizenship in response to a question put in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon session of the Indian Parliament.
Overview
In a written reply, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the number of Indians who renounced their Indian citizenship from January to June of this year is 87,026.
Regarding the statistics for the last three years, the MEA informed that 225,620 people renounced their Indian citizenship in 2022, 163,370 in 2021, and 85,256 in 2020.
Indians sought the citizenship of 135 countries ranging from Pakistan to the US, according to the MEA.
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The number of Indians who gave up their citizenships was 122,819 in 2011; 120,923 in 2012; 131,405 in 2013; 129,328 in 2014; and 131,489 in 2015.
Similarly, 141,603 renounced their Indian citizenship in 2016; 133,049 in 2017; 134,561 in 2018; and 144,017 in 2019.
With this, around 1.75 million Indians have given up citizenship since 2011. The MEA said that this relinquishing of citizenship has taken place for varied personal reasons.
Diaspora an Asset to the Nation
“The number of Indian nationals exploring the global workplace has been significant in the last two decades. Many of them have chosen to take up foreign citizenship for reasons of personal convenience,” the MEA said in its reply to the query of Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram.
The MEA said it is cognizant of this development and has undertaken a range of initiatives centring around ‘Make in India’ that would harness citizens’ talents at home.
“Recognising that the Indian community abroad is an asset to the nation, [the] Government has brought about a transformational change in its engagement with the diaspora,” Jaishankar said.
A total of 87,026 individuals have renounced their Indian citizenship until June this year, according to the minister, who was responding to a question by MP Karti Chidambaram.
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The EAM remarked that a successful, prosperous, and influential diaspora is an advantage for India.
Furthermore, the minister mentioned, “The Government’s efforts are particularly aimed at encouraging the exchanges of knowledge and expertise in a manner that would contribute to India’s national development.”
Demands for Dual Citizenship
Recently, India’s passport ranked 80th out of 199 passports on the Henley Passport Index 2023, climbing seven places and giving Indians visa-free access to 57 countries.
Amid an increasing trend of migration among Indians owing to several reasons, including limitations of a weak passport, demands have been voiced for dual citizenship provisions. Dual citizenship allows individuals to live, work, vote, and own property in two countries.
While India grants the status of Overseas Citizenship of India to its people abroad, the Constitution of India does not allow the holding of Indian citizenship with that of a foreign country simultaneously.