AN EXODUS OF AFFLUENT INDIANS: WHY MOVE?
The Times of India recently reported (July 20th) that “nearly 4 lakh Indians have given up their passports in the last 3 years.”, or taking a longer-term perspective, 9.3 lakh have done so since 2015. Further, the trend is rising, with 2021 seeing 1,63,370 in one year alone, the highest for some time.
Breaking down their destinations shows that of the 3.92 lakh leaving in the period 2019 to 2021, almost 44% took up US citizenship, 16% went to Canada, 15% Australia, 9% the UK, 3 % Italy, and a further 10% were spread between New Zealand, Singapore, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Sweden.
Even NRIs are relinquishing their Indian passports. In 2021 alone, from just the UAE, 326 renounced them.
Why Indians are moving abroad?
The most common reason on why Indians are moving abroad was “personal.” Digging further, it became clear that there are both “where” factors and “how” factors.
The “where” factors chiefly relate to lifestyle – a higher standard of living; cleaner cities; better infrastructure, housing, education, and medical care; safety for their families; global mobility; and weather, topped people’s lists.
While many of these have always been true, it is the “how” factors that many would say have really altered the game.
Quite simply it is a lot easier than ever before to change your place of citizenship, and the destination options are growing rapidly.
Jean-François Harvey, Founder & Global Managing Partner of Harvey Law Group (HLG), , “There has been a huge demand for overseas citizenship programs among our Indian clients, especially for those coming from the major commercial cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad.”
Mr. Harvey elaborated that today there are so many choices, and often conflicting considerations, that it can be quite daunting and confusing at first. “However, unlike agents or non-authorised firms, HLG is a professional immigration law firm, and as such, we have an obligation to advise clients on the best options and on the programs most suited to their goals. We first aim to understand each client’s needs and aspirations. Then, because we work with all the main programs and destinations, more than 40 in all, we can lay out all the options for them and look at issues from tax to investment levels, standards of living, education and so on. Whatever is relevant.”
Licensed professionals, like HLG, also know the best ways to approach their clients’ objectives. In further discussion, Mr. Harvey gave an example of US citizenship. The optimal way to gain it for you and your family, may not always be to apply directly.
It can be an expensive, very time-consuming, complex, and final success is not guaranteed. By contrast, applying for citizenship in Grenada, for instance, is relatively quick, easy, and comparatively affordable. Success is highly probable, the tax regime is hugely attractive, and you never even have to visit the country, though it is very beautiful. Most importantly, unique among Caribbean countries, Grenada has a coveted E-2 Visa treaty with the USA. When you have secured Grenadian citizenship, you can apply for you and your family to live in the USA, providing an often faster, easier, more reliable, and more cost-efficient route to settling in the USA.
For additional advice or for more information about Harvey Law Group’s residency and citizenship-by-investment investment immigration services, please visit
www.harveylawcorporation.com/.
If you would like to request a consultation with the HLG Mumbai office, email us at [email protected]
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