As many as 16 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship since 2011, the Centre informed Lok Sabha on Friday, 9 December.
Out of this, 1.83 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2022 itself (till 31 October).
Here is the yearly list of Indians who gave up their citizenship since 2011:
2011: 122,819
2012: 120,923
2013: 131,405
2014: 129,328
2015: 131,489
2016: 141,603
2017: 133,049
2018: 134,561
2019: 144,017
2020: 85,256
2021: 163,370
2022: 183,741 (till 31 October)
Further, the United States (US) has overtaken the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the most favoured destination for Indians for employment.
Most Indians who gave up their Indian citizenship did so to become US citizens. Lok Sabha was informed that around 78,284 Indians gave up their Indian nationality in 2021 after become US citizens, up from 30,828 in 2020.
This comes amid a World Bank report stating that India is expected to receive a record $100 billion in remittances this year.
According to WB data, remittances from the US, the United Kingdom (UK), and Singapore jumped from 26 to 36 percent from 2016-2021, while the same figures from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries fell by half, from 54 to 28 percent.
Further, the number of Indians travelling abroad on various type of visas has also risen this year after two years of COVID-induced slump.
2019: 2,52,71,965
2020: 66,25,080
2021: 77,24864
2022: 1,83,12,602
The number of Indians who left the country for employment:
2019: 25,25,328
2020: 715,733
2021: 833,880
2022: 21,43,873
The number of students who left India for educational purposes:
2019: 586,329
2020: 259,644
2021: 444,574
2022: 648,678
The number of people who left India for business:
2019: 14,67,537
2020: 265,433
2021: 126,611
2022: 464,275
The figures in 2022 indicate a jump from the years impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic i.e. 2020 and 2021, according to the data provided by the Ministry of External Affairs in response to a question in Lok Sabha.
Lok Sabha was also informed that the number of foreigners who have taken Indian citizenship, except nationals of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, on a yearly basis are:
2015: 93
2016: 153
2017: 175
2018: 129
2019: 113
2020: 27
2021: 42
2022: 60
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