Passport Surrenders Double In Gujarat In 2024 With 244 People Renounce Their Citizenship
According to a report in the Times of India, passport surrenders have been doubled in Gujarat after Delhi and Punjab. In 2022, 241 people gave up on Indian citizenship and renounced their passports, which increased to 485 people in 2023. The trend continues to grow in 2024, with 244 people renouncing their passports by early May.
The individuals belonging to the age group of 30-45 have surrendered their passports more than other age groups, and are settling in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, the report claimed.
Gujarat ranked third after Delhi and Punjab
According to the parliamentary data, Gujarat (22,300) ranked third in India for passport renunciation than Delhi (60,414) and Punjab (28,117) from 2014 to 2022.
It is noteworthy that passport renunciation has increased after the Covid-19 pandemic, due to changing mobility trends globally.
Lalit Advani, an Investor Visa Consultant based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat commented on the trend of relocating is growing among the business community, stated
“Many businessmen are moving abroad for better infrastructure and quality of life. Even those with high living standards in India want to move due to issues like lack of green spaces and poor driving conditions. Cities in Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, are not pedestrian friendly.”
According to another passport consultant, Ritesh Desai, there are three categories for visa: Student Visa, Direct Immigration and business visa. He said,
“Since 2012, there’s been a spike in people wanting to go abroad, particularly after 2013-2014. I expect the number of passport surrenders to increase significantly by 2028 as more people who have moved abroad now obtain their foreign citizenship.”
He also added that the people applying for the business visas are comparatively less than student visa and direct immigration visa due to country-specific quotas.
Passport Act 1967
The passport Act 1967, under Article 9 of the Indian Constitution does not allow any individual to have dual citizenship. And, according to section 12 of the Passport Act, a person has to surrender his Indian passport, if he has acquired foreign nationality.
If the Indian passport holders surrender their passports within 3 years of acquiring citizenship of a different country, no penalty will be imposed. However, if surrendered after 3 years, a huge amount of penalty or fine will be imposed ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000.
Reasons why Indians are moving abroad
- Education
India is the second largest country after China where students are moving abroad every year. One of the primary reasons for Indian students to move abroad is the quality of education. The foreign universities offer a wide variety of specialized and advanced courses, with proper research facilities, and availability of financial aid.
According to the Indian Student Mobility Report 2023, the number of Indian students enrolled in foreign universities are expected to increase by 2 billion in 2025 from roughly 1 million in 2019.
- Work opportunities
In today’s competitive world, the Indians are moving to different countries for better economic opportunities.
The Expat Insider 2021 survey conducted by InterNations claimed that 3% of Indians moved abroad to set up their own business.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that Indians are giving up on their citizenship since they want to explore the global workplace. Approximately, 6500 millionaires are expected to move abroad in 2023, a report by Henley & Partners (H&P) stated.
- Other reasons
Indians choose to migrate to different countries for the safety of women and children, better health care facilities, lifestyle factors like climate change and pollution, better infrastructure facilities etc.
How will migration impact the Indian economy?
The government will lose significant tax revenue as India is expected to lose around 4,300 millionaires in 2024. Additionally, the departure of highly talented professionals results in ‘brain drain’. It means that these individuals will take their skills and expertise to different countries, ultimately resulting in the loss of valuable human capital and making it difficult for the country to grow economically.
Plus, Indian students are moving abroad resulting in a substantial outflow of money from the country.
