‘Nearly 1.6 lakh Indians opted for Canadian citizenship in last 5 years’
New Delhi: Indian government data reveals a startling trend — a significant surge in the number of Indians renouncing their citizenship and opting for Canadian nationality in the last five years. According to official data, a staggering 1.6 lakh Indians have renounced their Indian citizenship and become Canadian citizens in the past five years. This data comes amid diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have escalated in recent months due to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Sing Nijjar and the protests by Khalistani sympathizers.
Moreover, during the same period, a total of approximately 8.4 lakh Indians chose to give up their Indian citizenship in favor of becoming citizens of 114 different nations worldwide. Notably, 58 per cent of these individuals opted for either Canada or the United States as their new home.
Canada, in particular, has emerged as the second most preferred destination for Indian expatriates between 2018 and June 2023, following the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
A closer look at the year-wise data on Indians relinquishing their citizenship shows a consistent upward trend, with a temporary dip in 2020 attributed to the pandemic. The numbers surged from 1.3 lakh in 2018 to 2.2 lakh in 2022, and in the first half of 2023 alone, more than 87,000 Indians have chosen to adopt foreign citizenship.
Canada’s decision to grant citizenship to 300,000 people in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, including minors under the age of 18 eligible to apply online, has likely played a pivotal role in this remarkable increase. The significant uptick was witnessed during the 2021-2022 fiscal year, surpassing even the pre-pandemic targets of 2019-2020 when 253,000 citizenship applications were processed. In the current fiscal year, Canada has already welcomed 116,000 new citizens, well ahead of the same period in 2021 when only 35,000 people were granted citizenship. This surge in Indian emigration to Canada has been a cause of concern for both governments. While it reflects a growing interest among Indians to seek opportunities and stability abroad, it also underlines the need for diplomatic dialogue between India and Canada to address underlying issues, including the recent rise in tensions.
The Indian government has yet to issue an official statement regarding these emigration trends. Meanwhile, experts anticipate that this phenomenon will continue to reshape the demographic landscape of both countries and have lasting implications on bilateral relations.
As diplomatic negotiations unfold to manage the strained relations, the world watches closely to see how India and Canada navigate these challenges while accommodating the aspirations of their citizens.
