An Australian passport. Photo: 123rf
Australia is increasingly becoming a preferred destination for Indians seeking citizenship, with 23,533 individuals having attained nationality across the ditch in 2021.
India's external affairs minister, S. Jayashankar, told the Indian Parliament that more than 200,000 Indian nationals had renounced their citizenship in 2022 - the highest figure since 2011.
Of the 135 countries in which Indians acquired citizenship, New Zealand ranked sixth, while the United States claimed top spot.
In 2019, more than 21,000 Indians obtained Australian nationality, whereas only 4,413 acquired Kiwi passports.
Although both countries experienced a decline in 2020 due to Covid-19, Australia managed to retain its second spot.
In 2021, both nations observed an increase, with 23,533 Indians trading in their Indian passports for Australian citizenship. Conversely, approximately a tenth of that figure pursued Kiwi citizenship.
According to the 2018 census, New Zealand is home to around 240,000 individuals of Indian ethnicity. Among them, 80,000 are non-resident Indians (NRIs) who still retain Indian citizenship, while the remainder consists of people of Indian origin (PIO).
In contrast, Australia has a minimum of 241,000 NRIs and at least 255,000 PIOs, which potentially explains the higher count of Australian citizenships.
In 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported that 163,000 Indians renounced their Indian passports. Among them, more than 78,000 opted for US citizenship.
According to the Indian government, more than 390,000 Indians have surrendered their Indian passports over the past three years.
Like many other Asian countries, India does not permit its citizens to hold dual nationalities.
However, it allows citizens to be an overseas citizen of India, a form of permanent residency that permits them to live and work indefinitely in India.