India for years has been firmly opposed of dual citizenship. With globalization and millions of Indians living in Diaspora, a new bill has been introduced in Indian parliament seeking reforms in the citizenship laws to allow dual citizenship. This is a significant move in the history of the country and is largely welcomed by indian population living abroad.
The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with more than 30 million people with Indian origin spread across the globe. India is the largest remittance receiving country, receiving nearly $65 billion a year. India also has one of the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world thanks to the foreign population of the indians. Many of these population live in USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Gulf countries. A small percentage indian population also present in the Caribbean
The Bill introduced by Shashi Tharoor if voted in parliament will open up dual citizenship for Indians both inland and living abroad.
With the significant rise in inquiries from indians seeking second citizenships for a greater travel mobility and freedom, India allowing dual citizenship will only boost CBI industry. The demand is further fueled as India has one of the worst passports in the world. In 2019, Indian passport had visa free access to less than 60 countries.
“In the era of globalization, more people from India will search for opportunities abroad. By automatically terminating their Indian citizenship when they seek citizenship of countries of residence, the law effectively cuts them off from their roots and make them feel like they do not have a real stake in their country of origin. OCIs do not enjoy all the rights that citizens of India can exercise, especially the right to vote, or to represent India in international sporting or other competitions. In order to enforce the idea that each member of the Indian diaspora has an important stake in the country of their origin, it is necessary to amend the Constitution, to pave way for statutory reform to allow dual citizenship.”, said Tharoor in the Bill
According to the 2019 Wealth-X report, India is one of the top 10 fastest-growing high-net-worth countries, for UHNW in Asia, alongside other Asian countries like Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Currently Indians, applying for CBI passports have to renounce their Indian citizenship and apply for OCI (overseas citizen of India) as dual citizenship is not permitted. Indians living in diaspora who already hold foreign passports from US, UK, Canada can easily apply for CBI schemes. Golden visa schemes in United States, Greece, Portugal are also more popular among Indians as these schemes offer only residency not immediate citizenship unlike CBI schemes.
India’s current amendments is a way forward at par with other countries embracing dual nationality role.
